Singapore Civic District - Esplanade Park
- Marc Michelmann
- Jun 25, 2022
- 3 min read
Updated: Oct 8
Esplanade Park @ Queen Elizabeth Walk
Built in 1943, Esplanade Park is one of the oldest among Singapore’s heritage parks. Redeveloped in 1991 to enhance the Civic District's identity and to create an important frontage for the Padang, Supreme Court and City Hall, Esplanade Park is a showcase for many of Singapore’s historical landmarks.
Tan Kim Seng Fountain
November 2019
Tan Kim Seng (b. 18 November 1806–d. 14 March 1864, Malacca, Malaya) was a wealthy trader and property owner with business interests in tin.
To commemorate Tan’s generous contribution towards the establishment of the waterworks, the municipal commissioners erected the Tan Kim Seng Fountain at Fullerton Square. It was officially unveiled on 19 May 1882.
The Impounding Reservoir or Thomson Road Reservoir, as it was originally called, also came about through the donation by philanthropist Tan Kim Seng in 1857. The reservoir was renamed MacRitchie Reservoir in 1922 after James MacRitchie, who was Municipal Engineer of Singapore from 1883 to 1895.
In 1925 the fountain was relocated from Fullerton Square to its current location.
1900 image of Battery Road, showing the Chartered Bank (right) and Hong Kong and Shanghai Bank (left). Tan Kim Seng Fountain is in the foreground. Image Source: National Archives of the Netherlands.
The Cenotaph
November 2019
The Cenotaph is a war memorial which commemorates the sacrifice of men who perished during World War I and II. It was first unveiled on 31 March 1922 by the Prince of Wales (later Duke of Windsor and King Edward VIII).
In 1950, the government approved an extension to the base of the structure to commemorate those who died during World War II. The extension was completed in 1951.
The inscription on the reverse side mentions no names, simply the phrase “They died so we might live” in the four main languages: English, Malay, Mandarin and Tamil.
The Cenotaph pre 1950.
Indian National Army Monument
November 2019
The monument was constructed to commemorate the "Unknown Warrior" of the Indian National Army (INA). The words inscribed on the war memorial were its motto, which is Unity (Ittehad), Faith (Ittemad) and Sacrifice (Qurbani). It was built during the Japanese Occupation of Singapore as the Japanese and the INA had one enemy in common, i.e., the British.
Subhas Chandra Bose ("Netaji") laid the foundation stone on July 8, 1945. The monument was then erected within a month by the Japanese on August 1945, a few months before Singapore was recaptured by the British. The construction of the monument was proposed by Bose, the co-founder of the INA and Head of State of the Provisional Government of Free India. The INA was backed by the Japanese forces for its goal of gaining India's independence from Britain.
Lim Bo Seng Memorial
November 2019
Lim Bo Seng (Major-General) (b. 27 April 1909, Nan’an, Fujian, China–d. 29 June 1944, Perak, Malaya) was a prominent Hokkien businessman who undertook active leadership in anti-Japanese activities during World War II. He is recognised as a local war hero in Singapore.
Lim came to Singapore from China at the age of 16 and studied at Raffles Institution. He later enrolled in the University of Hong Kong, but discontinued his education there in 1929. This was because he had inherited his father’s businesses, which included biscuit and brick manufacturing, upon the latter’s death. In 1930, he married Gan Choo Neo, a Straits-born Chinese, with whom he had seven children.
Lim died in Batu Gajah Jail, Perak, on 29 June 1944. After the war, Lim’s remains were disinterred from the jail in December 1945 and reburied in Singapore on 13 January 1946, on a hill overlooking MacRitchie Reservoir. In February 1946, the Chinese Nationalist government posthumously awarded him the rank of major-general.
The coastline of Esplanade Park prior to any reclamations
Source: https://www.facebook.com/photo/?fbid=24730546216613336&set=gm.4145916498997570&idorvanity=2961522894103609, 8 Oct 2025
At the botton of this picture, where Stamford Road meets Beach Road, is Stamford Canal. This part of Stamford Canal was filled in during a major reclamation and redevelopment project in the 1980s. The land was redeveloped into the Raffles City complex, which opened in 1986.
The Stamford Canal was originally a freshwater stream that was later canalized. Its mouth was near the junction of Beach Road and Stamford Road. The canal's low-lying location made it susceptible to tidal overflows and flooding, a problem that worsened with increasing urbanization. The canal was covered and channeled underground during the construction of the Raffles City complex, which began in the early 1980s. The former Raffles Institution school, which was situated on the opposite side of the canal from St. Andrew's Cathedral, was demolished to make way for the new development. While no longer visible, the canal continues to flow beneath the area and is part of Singapore's extensive drainage network.
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