One of the tourist attractions that I regretted not visiting when I was young is the Van Kleef Aquarium that was at River Valley Road – it’s no longer there, of course, and hence my regret. Fortunately, we have bloggers like Victor to show us what the aquarium was like before it closed down.

Van Kleef Aquarium. National Archives Photo.

What’s the story behind the aquarium’s name? According to the Singapore: The Encyclopedia:

Opened on 8 September 1955 in River Valley Road, the Van Kleef Aquarium was named after a former Dutch resident, Mr K W B Van Kleef, who bequeathed his estate to Singapore in a will dated 7 July 1900. The Municipal Commission made plans to build the aquarium in 1933, but these were put on hold when the war broke out and only resumed in the 1950s.

Besides fishes, one could also expect to see turtles and crocodiles at the aquarium – and back in the 60s, admission prices were a mere 30 cents for adults! I wonder how much is that is today’s money, and how that compares with the Underwater World at Sentosa. Learn about the Van Kleef aquarium in Victor’s post here, and see pictures of the aquarium’s interior, as well as the changing landscape of River Valley Road.