Waterloo Street

Waterloo Street[a] is a two-way street located in the Central Area of Singapore, running from Rochor Road to Bras Basah Road. It traverses the planning areas of Rochor and Museum. Waterloo Street is home to a number of prominent landmarks, including the Kwan Im Thong Hood Cho Temple, the Maghain Aboth Synagogue, Sculpture Square and the Sri Krishnan Temple. The synagogue, established in 1878, is the oldest in Singapore and was built by the local Jewish community.

The street runs parallel to North Bridge Road, Victoria Street, and Queen Street, which were once the city's primary thoroughfares. As these road names were difficult for local Chinese speakers to pronounce, they were colloquially referred to as "Toa Beh Lor", "Tzee Beh Lor", and "Sa Beh Lor",[b] meaning "first road", "second road", and "third road" respectively. Waterloo Street was known as "Si Beh Lor", meaning "fourth road", by the Hokkien and Teochew communities.[1][2] In the lead-up to Chinese New Year, a small festive bazaar is typically held along the upper section of the street.

History

Waterloo Street was originally established in 1837 and was initially named Church Street after Thomas Church, who served as Resident Councillor of Singapore at the time. In 1858, the Municipal Council renamed it Waterloo Street in honour of the Arthur Wellesley, 1st Duke of Wellington's victory at the Battle of Waterloo in 1815, as well as to avoid confusion as there was another Church Street close to Raffles Place.[3]

In 1998, the northern end was redesigned as a pedestrian mall to alleviate vehicular congestion and accommodate the large crowds drawn to the Kwan Im Thong Hood Cho Temple, particularly on weekends and public holidays.[3] The street formerly extended to Stamford Road but was shortened following the development of the Singapore Management University city campus in 2006 and the adjacent MRT station of Bras Basah which opened in 2010. Originally a one-way road, it was converted to a two-way street in 2016.[4]

Landmarks

In order from Rochor Road to Bras Basah Road:

Notes

  1. ^ Chinese: 滑铁卢街 or Chinese: 四马路. There is no official translation in Malay or Tamil, and the English name is retained in its original form in both languages.
  2. ^ Queen Street was also colloquially known as "Sek A Ni Koi", a Hokkien rendition of the Malay term for Eurasians, Serani, reflecting the presence of a significant Eurasian community in the area.

References

  1. ^ "Harmony Walks" (PDF). nhb.gov.sg. National Heritage Board. 10 November 2019. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2 March 2022. Retrieved 9 July 2025.
  2. ^ Shawn Hoo (12 July 2023). "Pandemic casualty Four Horse Road returns to Waterloo Street for third staging". The Straits Times. Archived from the original on 13 July 2023. Retrieved 9 July 2025.
  3. ^ a b "四马路" [Waterloo Street]. www.languagecouncils.sg. 2024. Archived from the original on 15 February 2025. Retrieved 9 July 2025.
  4. ^ "Bencoolen Street will be 'car-lite' when it fully re-opens next year; traffic adjustments to start on Nov 13". The Straits Times. 10 November 2016. Archived from the original on 15 November 2016. Retrieved 9 July 2025. Waterloo Street will become a two-way street and the traffic direction for Queen Street will be converted towards Bras Basah Road.

Further reading

  • Victor R. Savage; Brenda Yeoh (2013). Singapore Street Names: A study of Toponymics. Singapore: Marshall Cavendish. ISBN 9789814484749.

Waterloo Street by the National Library Board, archived from the original on 16 June 2025.

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