Old Singapore Quiz (8) - Old Houses

Like many oldies e.g this chap and this bloke, I am also fascinated by old houses, especially dilapidated and abandoned ones. Each one of them is beautiful and mysterious (the old houses, not the oldies). You wonder about the usual 5 W's and 1 H, that is:

1. Who stayed in them before and who owns it now?

2. When was it built and when was it last abandoned?

3. What was its history and what would it be used for in the future?

4. Where can you find another one just like it in Singapore?

5. Why was it not "en-bloc-ed" yet, considering sky-high property prices in Singapore now?

6. How does it look like inside and how long more will it be left standing like this? Will it be demolished soon or will an impending makeover completely deprive it of its original character, like what has happened to so many other similar buildings in Singapore?

Please note that the above are not quiz questions. I am not so mean as to ask questions for which I do not know the answers myself. However, if you could provide the answers to the above questions, please do. I believe many people would like to know the answers, including myself.

I don't know if this house is still standing today. As you can tell from the date imprint, the above photo was taken more than 2 years ago. As usual, I have removed the background of the photo so that there won't be an unfair advantage for people like Icemoon who could easily recognise the buildings standing in the background, regardless of how far away they are.

Quiz Question:

I only ask you this simple lone question:

Where is this house located? (Just provide the road name.)

Here are some hints: Although I don't think this is a famous landmark or a historically significant house, this should be an easy quiz as the house faces a very busy road. You must have noticed it if you have ever passed by it before, whether on foot or in a vehicle.

Update on 31 May 2009:

It is obvious that YG knows the answer and is trying very hard to keep the secret acting blur. He asked in the comments of this article: "were you accosted by the any heavy chested chinese woman while taking the photograph?"

YG, indeed I was. The woman with porcelain-white complexion came up to me from behind and then suddenly without saying a word, lifted her blouse to show me her "heavy chested" assets. I was too shocked for words - she wasn't wearing any bra. And there she was, standing topless in front of me. My eyes strayed lower and it was then that I realised that she was bottomless too! I quickly snapped a photo of her.
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If you are below 18 years of age, you cannot proceed.
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If you get offended by picture of body parts, you can retreat now.
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Answers To "Where Can You See This Mountain From Singapore" Quiz

You can never hide a secret from YG and he can never keep it. Why do I say that? Because he's right on 3 counts! The photo was indeed taken from Civil Defence Academy (CDA) at 101 Jalan Bahar where I am attending a course (not about how to change light bulbs). He's most probably right again about the mountain in my photo being the same Gunung Pulai which Icemoon blogged about here and here.

When you compare the images of the mountain in Icemoon's blog and mine, they look different. However, this is hardly surprising as even a Christmas tree can appear crooked or straight, depending on the angle you see it from.

YG scored a hattrick of right answers when he said that these high mast lightings had raising and lowering devices to facilitate the changing of light bulbs.

Some of the high mast lightings appear to have to be manually lowered (and raised) as these photos of maintenance work at the Toa Payoh Sports and Recreation Centre show:



(Notice the external straps at the side of the light mast in the first photo above. I am not surprised if someone had to climb up the mast to thread the straps and unlatch some locking device in order to bring down the lights or luminaires, as they are called.)

In contrast, the high mast of CDA has an electric-powered winch to aid in the lowering and raising of the lights. The high mast lightings are of Lycorpole brand which is marketed by a Malaysian company called Lysaght Marketing.




You can refer to a technical drawing of the 30-metre Lycorpole high mast below. (Click on the drawing to view a larger drawing.)


(Notice the "non-slip and fully self sustaining double drum winch" and the "detachable electric power tool c/w gear box".)

Now watch the YouTube video below on how they change the light bulb on top of Empire State Building. (Warning: Not recommended for viewing by people who suffer from acrophobia or vertigo.)

Where Can You See This Mountain From Singapore?

Mountain in zoomed-in view

Mountain in normal view

Or if you prefer the mountain in a romantic sunset setting:

Mountain in normal view and romantic sunset setting

Mountain in zoomed-in view and romantic sunset setting

I have been very busy lately so I could hardly find the time to update this blog. Therefore, I think I will just choose the fast and easy way out and simply "plagiarize" an idea from Icemoon's blog. It is from one of his posts with the same title. But mine has an additional question about something else tall as well:

Questions:

1. What is the name of this mountain?

2. From which location in Singapore are the photos taken from?

3. Do you know how technicians change light bulbs for the tall light structure shown in 2 of the photos?

I must confess that I do not know the answer to Question 1. (I just hope that it is not Gunung Pulai which Icemoon blogged about. Perhaps he can use his excellent Google Earth skills to find out the answer for me.)

Old Singapore Quiz (7) - Answers

Thanks for your guesses. All of you who attempted Old Singapore Quiz (7) got the answers correct. It must have been an easy one, eh?

Answers to Old Singapore Quiz (7):

1. What is the name of this place in Singapore?

A: Toa Payoh Town Park


2. What was its old name?

A: Toa Payoh Town Garden


3. What was it popularly used for in the 1970s?

A: Outdoor wedding photography


4. What is the name of the eatery located there?

A: The Oasis


5. Where was the eatery formerly located?

A: Kallang Basin


The following paragraph was extracted from Wikipedia:

"Toa Payoh Town Garden was partially closed in 1999 to make way for a temporary bus interchange. After the new Toa Payoh Bus Interchange at the HDB Hub was completed in June 2002, the temporary bus interchange was converted to a landscaped park. Toa Payoh Town Garden was subsequently renamed as Toa Payoh Town Park."

So it looks like the garden had been rebuilt.

Toa Payoh Town Garden was one of the earliest public parks to be built in an HDB new town. According to this blog, the beautifully landscaped Toa Payoh Town Garden was completed in September 1973 for the SEAP Games. (In comparison, the Chinese Garden was completed in 1975.)

Toa Payoh Town Garden was a very popular venue for outdoor photography shoots with wedding couples at that time. My brother did just that in 1976:


The photos are a bit faded. My brother's suit was maroon, a favourite colour of choice for bridegrooms at that time. (The masks are not part of the wedding attire though. They are something I made my brother and sister-in-law wear to protect their identities. But frankly, I doubt anyone can recognise them 33 years later even if they are unmasked. :p)

Note: You can see the restaurant building in the background in the right photo above. The building has been renovated and it is now occupied by The Oasis restaurant which serves Taiwanese porridge:


Previously (before May 2008), the restaurant was at Kallang Basin (in the round structures in the photo below). As correctly pointed out by Polestar, the left portion of the restaurant in the photo below was also a popular place to hold Chinese wedding dinners in the 1970/80s:


Here are more photos of Toa Payoh Town Park:

The distinctive hexagonal guardrails

The 27-m viewing tower

The 3 arch bridges

Each watching you like an unblinking eye

You can read more about Toa Payoh here and here.

Old Singapore Quiz (7)

Questions:

1. What is the name of this place in Singapore?

2. What was its old name?

3. What was it popularly used for in the 1970s?

4. What is the name of the eatery located there?

5. Where was the eatery formerly located?

Clues:

1. The place is more than 30 years' old; and

2. As is obvious from the photo, there are water, greenery, and sunlight (or rain in inclement weather).

For the answers, check out Victor's blog in a week's time.