Noel's Did You Know? - Orchard Road - #001
We all know Orchard Road is a major tourist attraction with lots of excellent shopping malls. It is also the place where young girls dress to impress or should I say dress down to impress? Its true! But did you know Orchard Road got its name from the nutmeg, pepper and fruit orchards that the road led to in the mid-1800s?
And in the 1840s, graveyards began to appear along Orchard Road. The Chinese had a large graveyard where Meritus Mandarin Hotel and Ngee Ann City now stands and the Sumatrans from Bencoolen had their burial ground where Grand Central Hotel stands. The Jewish cemetery was located where Dhoby Ghaut MRT Station is now situated and this cemetery was demolished in 1984.
THat is part of the reason Takashimaya building Ngee Ann city was designed like a Chinese Tomb... maybe.
ReplyDeleteHi Leon! That's what I heard as well. And that's why they have the two lions at the entrance too. But one thing for sure, business is good at the mall. They got their fengshui spot on!
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