They are older than you know, and they may be older than you will ever be. History has calcified in their granite bones. They remember the time where rickshaws roamed the streets and the footsteps of great personages and alleged criminals alike echoed through their halls. They witnessed the fall of a colony, in a flash of bayonets; they stood by in silent attention, as a new nation arose. In time to come, they will be transformed, reborn again as the National Art Gallery, Singapore.

Welcome to the City Hall & former Supreme Court buildings!

Former Supreme CourtThe Facts Built on the site of the Hotel LEurope, one of the palatial hotels in Southeast Asia in the 1900s. Built at the cost of $1.75 million and said to be modelled after the Old Bailey Court House in

London Declared open in 1939 The Supreme Court moved to new building, just a stones throw away from the former site. The new Supreme Court was designed by Lord Norman Foster

Supreme Court Balcony The balcony is fronted by Ionic and Corinthian columns, belonging to two classical orders of Greek and Roman architecture. These columns are made of gypsum plaster, commonly known as Shanghai plaster, in reference to the skilled Chinese artisans who fled China during the Sino-Japanese war and came here to work.

Look up at the tympanumthe little triangular section over the the columns. You can see that the depiction of Justice here is not blindfolded, as it usually is (on the United States Supreme Court, for example). The sculptures were carved by Italian Cavalieri Rudolfo Nolli, who was also responsible for moulding the internal columns of the building.

Courtroom 1One of the four original courtrooms in the former Supreme Court. The furniture in Courtroom 1 will be preserved in the National Art Gallery.

Even in the days before air-conditioning, judges, lawyer and spectators

Foundation StoneLaid by Sir Shenton Thomas on 1 April 1937, the 70th anniversary of the proclamation of the Straits Settlement as a separate colony. Being seven feet across and weighing two tonnes, it was the biggest founda-tion stone in Malaya at that time. A time capsule, fashioned from brass and containing 6 Singapore newspapers and Straits Settlement coins from that period of time, slumbers under the stone. They will be unearthed in the year 3000, 900 years from now!

Main CorridorBuilt during the time of the Great Depression, the former Supreme Court suffered from a lack of funding resources. You probably could not tell it from looking at the grand faade alone. Economi-cal building materials were used and the inside of the building is rather austere and practical.Gypsum plaster was used for the finishing of the cornices and the main hall. The rubber tiling on the floors of the main corridor reflect an Art Deco influence. Locally manufactured, they are sound-absorbing to make sure that the halls of the Supreme Court would remain suitably quiet.

Designed by F D Meadows and completed in 1929 Known as the Municipal Building until 1951 Housed many offices of several government departments, including the office of Singapores first Prime Minister, Mr Lee Kuan Yew.

City Hall Steps:The City Hall steps and building have served as the backdrop for many national events. The surren-der of the Japanese forces in 1945 was announced by Admiral Lord Louis Mountbatten on these steps, as was then-PM Lee Kuan Yews proclamation of self-government in 1959.

Prime Minister Lee Kuan Yew speaking at the National Day Rally at City Hall, 3 June 1961. (Collection of National Heritage Board)

City Hall Chambers:Originally built to be the grandest room in the building, it was used as a meeting room by the then Municipal Commissioners to discuss Singapores development during the colonial age, in addition to hosting official functions. It was here that the Japanese surrendered to the Allied forces on 12 September 1945. The swearing in of the first fully-independent Singapore Government was also carried out here on the 5th of June 1959.

NATIONAL ART GALLERY, SINGAPORE

Do you know? Chief Justice Yong Pung How, the second of three local Chief Justices that Singapore has had, was the one who abolished the wearing of traditional wigs for the justices.

could keep cool when the heat was on. A ventilated system called the Solo-Air system, invented by E H Hindmarsh, provided a cooling current of renewed air routed through the floor and up into the legs of the tables, where concealed ducts directed jets of air.

Chief Justices Chambers The Chief Justices chambers are served by their own private lift. The Y-shaped table you see in the Chief Justices office is the only one in the building.

On the bookshelves, you can see the emblems featuring arms of the Inns of Court, a professional association which provides legal training, selection and regulation for every barrister in England and Wales. These will be conserved as testimonies to the buildings former functions in the future Gallery.

Rotunda LibraryOnce upon a time, the rotunda library used to hold the law library. Then when the collection outgrew the circular space, the library was moved to the City Hall building, and this room was converted into a police post, back at a time when policemen were still wearing shorts!

The furniture here was designed by William Swaffield. Notice their elaborate workmanship: distinctive cornices, relief panelling and the like. You can see his handiwork in many of the pieces present in these historic buildings.

Holding Cells (restricted access)Notorious murderers, from self-styled medium Adrian Lim to Anthony Ler, who manipulated a teenager to kill his ex-wife, have sat here as they waited for their verdicts to be announced. There are 10 inmate holding cells reserved for men in the former Supreme Court, and two for women. The flushes for the toilets are located outside the cells, so that inmates could not harm them-selves. In the future, two of these cells will be kept in the future National Art Gallery as a reminder of what this place used to be.

Anticipating the Future These two iconic buildings which were symbolic of Singapores nationhoodCity Hall and former Supreme Courtwill be transformed into the new National Art Gallery. They will make our future home the largest visual arts venue in Singapore when it opens.

For more information, visit nationalartgallery.sg. Do also friend us on Facebook (Facebook.com/artgallerysg) and follow us on Twitter (Twitter.com/artgallerysg).

CHIEF JUSTICE CHAMBER

FSC BALCONY

COURT-ROOM 1

ROTUNDA LIBRARY

COURT OF

APPEAL

FSC HISTORICAL LOBBY

City Hall And Former Supreme Court At A GlanceCity Hall Building