Despite its name, you probably don’t give second thought to the orchards that once inhabited the stretch of road we now call Orchard Road. What kind of crops? Nutmeg and pepper, for most part, and that was in the 1840s. But how about the more recent history? Can you remember what Orchard Road looked like 10, 20, 30 years ago?

Jerome remembers the buildings along Orchard Road in the 1970s. How many buildings can’t you identify?

The Scotts Road junction was where the old Lido Cinema building stood next to Shaw House, across from Liat Towers on the other side of Orchard Road. While old Shaw House and Lido has since been demolished, giving way to the new Shaw House which houses the Lido Cineplex, Liat Towers still stands. The branch of Standard Chartered Bank located in Shaw House was one that my mother made frequent visits to.

On the opposite side of Scotts Road, where Tang’s Plaza is now, you would be greeted by the old C K Tang building. Opposite this, across Orchard Road and what was then the open canal, was the distinctive roof structure of the Indonesian Embassy, the Wisma Indonesia, where Wisma Atria now stands. Further along was the old Champion Motors showroom and Fitzpatrick’s Supermarket, probably around where the Paragon now stands. Opposite that there was the old Ngee Ann Building, which housed a number of Specialist clinics as well the the popular Mont D’or Cake Shop, which my parents often got our birthday cakes from.

You can read about Jerome’s recollections of Orchard Road in the 1970s here. In the 1970s, the giant shopping complexes were unheard of, and Orchard Road was understandably quite different then. But how about 10 years ago? What was on Orchard Road then that doesn’t exist now?