Victoria Theatre & Victoria Concert Hall

#TriviaTuesday: It took over half a century — more than 50 years — to complete the construction of Victoria Theatre and Concert Hall Complex.

Designed by Colonial engineer John Bennett, the Town Hall, now Victoria Theatre, was constructed between 1855 and 1862 with funds set aside by the British Administration and from public donations. The adjacent Victoria Memorial Hall, now Victoria Concert Hall, was built after the death of England’s Queen Victoria and completed in 1905. Connecting the Town Hall and Victoria Memorial Hall is a 54-metre-high clock tower, also completed in 1905. It was only a year later that the clock faces received their timepieces and peal of bells, which were donated by Straits Trading Company. A portico was added on to the Town Hall to make its façade look similar to the Concert Hall. The renovated Victoria Theatre was officially reopened in 1909.

Both Victoria Theatre and Victoria Memorial Hall have hosted countless theatrical productions by international and local performers. The two buildings have also witnessed many historical events and milestones of Singapore: in 1958, Majulah Singapura, written by Zubir Said, was performed at the Victoria Theatre for the first time. The song later became Singapore's national anthem, when we achieved nationhood.

It was in 1979 that the Victoria Memorial Hall was renamed the Victoria Concert Hall, although the previous name continued to be commonly used. In fact, this name continues to be found on the building’s façade.

From 2010 to 2014, Victoria Theatre and Victoria Concert Hall underwent a major facelift. Besides upgrading the performance venues, some features that were lost in history were also restored. A crown – a reinterpretation of Queen Victoria’s crown – now sits atop the clock tower. The original crown that had once capped the copper dome was removed after Singapore gained full internal self-governance in 1959. The passageway and air well between the Theatre and the Concert Hall, blocked from public view for many years, has also been transformed into an atrium and serves as an event venue today.

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