Developed for the poor and opened in 1923, the St Andrew's Mission Hospital for Women and Children catered to the dense residential population in and around the area of Chinatown. Its 1929 lift, the oldest operational elevator in Singapore, served contagious children stricken with tuberculosis. Under quarantine, the lift gave them the option of ascending to the building’s roof for fresh air and a spot of time in the sun. Guide and heritage buff Jerome Lim will walk you through the backstory of this State property and shed light on the three-storey facility’s Modernist design. Mr Lim will also pepper the digital tour with anecdotes from former users of the space.
Missed out on the tour? Find out more about 5 Kadayanallur Street through the article written by Jerome below!
https://thelongnwindingroad.wordpress.com/2018/05/27/the-hospital-at-mount-erskine-and-what-may-now-be-singapores-oldest-lift/
Discovering Singapore’s Best Kept Secrets SHF 2021 edition is presented in partnership with Jerome Lim and the Singapore Land Authority.
About Jerome Lim
Jerome Lim is a heritage enthusiast, a keen photographer, and a blogger who captures Singapore’s fast evolving urban and cultural landscape through the award-winning ‘The Long and Winding Road’ blog. He is also the author of ‘Uncommon Ground: The Places You Know, The Stories You Don’t’ and co-author of ‘Secret Singapore’ through which he brings out the stories that are hidden in many of Singapore’s lesser-known sites. Through Jerome’s collaboration with the Singapore Land Authority, he has led guided visits to State Properties under the agency’s care since 2017, including several that have featured in NHB’s Battle for Singapore and Singapore Heritage Festival tour programmes.
