Sunday, February 20, 2011

#4 Sim Kwong Ho Shophouse(i), 292-310 Balestier Road












Designed by the architect firm of Westerhout and Oman, this row of shophouses was built in 1926 by a female developer called Madam Sim Cheng Neo who also owned several other properties in the area.

Located just opposite Balestier Point,It is often referred to as the “Sim Kwong Ho” building as the name is inscribed on the front of the building. According to residents in the area, there used to be a dog centrepiece feature that had gone missing, but they have no idea when it disappeared.

The corner unit (No. 312) used to house a 1960s-styled, old school coffee-shop with high back to back seats along the walls, with formica-topped narrow tables that was a common characteristic among all the old-generation of coffee-shops, very unlike the kopitiams that we see today. This coffee shop had been operating for at least 60 years before the third generation of owners stopped the business. Now it is merely another normal modern coffee-shop with stainless steel stalls and plastic furniture.



-Prinya

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