Orchard Road
Unlike many roads in Singapore, Orchard Road was not named after any particular person. Instead, Orchard Road was named after the many nutmeg plantations, pepper farms and fruit orchards that used to line the street in the 1830s.
In the 1840s, there were no houses to the south of Orchard Road. As the city developed and progressed inland from the Padang area, the plantations in Orchard area gave way to residential development. Many private houses, mainly bungalows of the old peranakan style, began to dominate the Scotts Road and Tanglin Road areas. Shophouse developments were built in the Orchard Road and Somerset Road areas closer to Dhoby Ghaut as the city grew.
In the early 1900s, commercial developments began at Orchard Road. This signalled the evolution of Orchard Road into the vibrant commercial district of today. In 1917, the Singapore Cold Storage Company opened a store to distribute food supplies. The Orchard Road Market provided fresh produce for the residents. Motor workshops sprouted around the Kramat Road area to service the growing number of vehicles.
In the 1950s, CK Tang opened a departmental store at Orchard Road. The coffee shops and hawker stalls at Koek Lane were favourite eating places. Through the 1960s and into 1970s, entertainment centres such as Lido Cinema, Orchard Theatre, Raffles Village and Jackie's Bowl were opened. Eating places such as Cairnhill Steak House, Pavilion Steak House, Mont'dor Cafe were popular with Singaporeans and expatriates alike. Hotels such as Forum Inter-Continental, Ming Court, Mandarin and Hilton were built to serve the booming tourist industry in Singapore. Orchard Road was transformed into a hotel, shopping and entertainment corridor.
In the 1970s through the 1980s, development intensified. More land was used for commercial and hotel development. The building of two Mass Rapid Transit (MRT) stations along Orchard Road in the 1980s further strengthened the growth of Orchard Road into the dynamic activity corridor that it is today.
In 1991, the Urban Redevelopment Authority (URA), Singapore's national planning and conservation authority, released the revised Concept Plan. This Plan maps out the vision for Singapore's long-term physical development for a population of 4 million. With the completion of the Concept plan, URA proceeded to prepare detailed plans called Development Guide Plans (DGPs) for gazetting as the new Master Plan. A DGP for Orchard was released in 1994 and The Master Plan 1998 (which will guide all development of land in Singapore) was approved by the Minister for National Development in 1998.
The vision set-out in the 1994 DCG was for Orchard Road to be a modern and vibrant commercial corridor alive with day and night activities. 4 planning strategies in relation to land use, transportation, development intensity, urbanscape/environment were identified to help achieve this.
Today, Orchard Road is Singapore's premier shopping street and a popular destination for visitors. Stretching close to 2km, Orchard Road today has about 800,000sqm gross floor area of shopping and entertainment attractions, complemented by hotels, offices and residences along wide shady boulevards. Coupled with a lively street culture, Orchard Road offers a unique shopping experience in a tropical setting. Today, for the average visitor to Singapore, Orchard Road is synonymous with one word - Shopping.
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