The other side of forbidden

Posted by noelbynature under Buildings and Monuments, Heritage Sites and Trails
(0) Comment • (2079) Reads • Permalink

The other side of the Forbidden Hill, that is, or what we now know today as Fort Canning Hill is what Jerome is referring to. The western and southern slopes of Fort Canning Tank once housed a number of notable buildings that don’t exist any more or have moved away. Among them is the precursor to Ngee Ann Polytechnic, Singapore’s first railway station, the National Theatre and the Van Kleef Aquarium.

Many youngsters would know of the Underwater World at Sentosa, but not the Van Kleef Aquarium. Jerome has the history:

Next to the theatre was one of my favourite places in the 1960s, the Van Kleef Aquarium. The Van Kleef Aquarium was built in the 1950s with funds bequeathed by a Karl Willem Benjamin van Kleef, a successful Dutch businessman who had settled in Singapore, who passed away in 1930 after returning to the Netherlands in 1913, hence the name of the aquarium. When the aquarium opened in 1955, it was one of the most impressive aquariums in the world. The building designed by the local municipal architects, was in itself, an impressive feat of engineering. It featured two underground reservoirs from which water could be pumped to the tanks housing the exhibits by a system of pumps. This was where I had my first glance of beautifully coloured marine fish, including the Lion Fish which was my favourite. While increasing interest in the first 25 years saw visitor numbers to the aquarium peak at 430,000 visitors in the 1979, interest waned in the 1980s, with visitor numbers falling to some 248,000 visitors in 1985, as newer attractions such as the zoo and the bird park became more fashionable. With the opening of Underwater World in Sentosa in 1991, a decision was made to close the aquarium. It finally closed its doors in 1996, and the building was demolished in 1998.

Find out about the historic and significant buildings to be found, and no longer found, on the other side of Fort Canning Hill here. I’ve never had the chance to step into the Van Kleef Aquarium, although I still remember looking at the rather drab building that was past its heydey. Does anyone have any pictures of the aquarium’s interior to share on Yesterday.sg?

Rating: 0