Chulia Street (Kling Street till 1921) Chulia Street is where the native area begins – from the junction of Bonham street. The Indians were almost exclusively Chulia Tamil Muslims. There were both Indian and Chinese shops. Singapore River side: Bonham building – right at the corner opposite Standard Chartered bank. This was a 3 storey colonial building (where UOB plaza 2 is today). It had mostly lawyers, auditors and other professional firms as well as the United Chinese Bank (today’s UOB ). There were a number of Indian professionals working in law firms, agency houses, etc. This building was rebuilt in 1973. Then came about 10+ shop houses and some of the businesses were: · Second Chance tailors – Bonham building ground floor, Tamil Muslim · Woollen & Textiles Pte Ltd, Milady Textiles - Tamil Muslim · Cheong & Co. - Sail & Flag makers, Chinese · SS Abdul Jabbar – ???, Tamil Muslim · Krishna Stationers – Indian Tamils · DasaradasVeerappanChettiar – TOTO ticket distribution · A Latiff Brothers – pharmacy/perfumes, Tamil Muslim · Zayfast – pharmacy, Gujerati (??) · JitendraVanilal& Co – Importers and exporters, Gujerati · BS Mohideen& Co (#28) – stationers, Tamil Muslim · Ghulam Stationers – stationery, Tamil Muslims · Chinese shophouses – tailors, Chinese · RM AllapitchayMaricar – money changer – corner but facing market street, Tamil Muslim · Mustafa tea stall – Mustaq Ahmed’s father used to sell hot tea in the evenings at corner here. This was not a permanent shop but a push cart/pole mobile stall. Raffles Place Side: Series of about 10 shophouses as follows: · Wako & Co – at the corner of Raffles Place – Dining accessories, Chinese · Everbright Opticians – spectacles, Chinese · Shipchandlers – ship supply,Chinese · Kamaluddin& Co – Ship chandlers,Tamil Muslim · ASM Dawood - – Ship chandlers,Tamil Muslim · Bee Chow – tailors (very famous & expensive), Chinese · Wahab& Co – Ship Chandlers, Tamil Muslim (now in Bras Basah complex 2nd floor) · Liang Brothers – electrical appliances, Chinese · Eber & Tan - ???, Chinese · Corner of market street Amar Petti Kadai – convenience shop (like 7-11), Tamil Muslim Market Street A good mix of ethnicities. The end closer to Chulia street transitions from Tamil Muslims to Chettiars. And gradually transitions to mostly Gujaratis and North Indians towards Malacca street. Interspersed were Indian Tamils. It was about 70/30 – Indian/Chinese. At Boat Quay it was Chinese, as one moves towards Chulia Street the street becomes overwhelmingly Indian. From the middle of Market Street past the Kittangis, some Chinese businesses intermingle and at where it meets Cecil street it becomes mostly Chinese. A few Indian businesses sprawl into Telok Ayer, Cecil and Cross streets and peter out into Chinatown. Between Singapore River and Chulia street: Chinatown side: Godowns face the Singapore river # 16 & 18 – MohdMaulana Ali Mosque – converted shophouses became a mosque in 1950s # 22 Sena& Co . – sharebroking firm – Sinhalese Buddhists Raffle Place Side: # 3 Lunch Home – till 1942 run by Mukkani Krishna Iyer; very popular. It was hit in the first bombing of Raffles Place. Closed down after that. Opposite mosque’s (#16 & 18) were: · Tailor shops – Tamil Muslims · Another branch of Naina Mohamed & Son’s Pharmacy, Tamil Muslim · NainaMohd & Sons - provision shop – Tamil Muslim · Perfume shop - perfumes, Pakistani · Abdul Rahim – money changers and stationers, Tamil Muslims · RE Mohammed Kassim – money changers, Tamil Muslims # Corner of Chulia Street KM Allahpitchay Maricar - money changer, Tamil Muslim Between Chulia Street and Cecil Street: Chinatown Side: # 28 & 30 Corner of Chulia Street was Bank of Singapore (a striking 4 storey building with a resident Sikh jaga) # 36 Kittangi – financing, Chettiars # 38 Kittangi – financing, Chettiars # 40 ?? Panakchand – commodity traders, Hindu Gujarati # 42 ?? Ranchordas&Purushottam – commodity traders, Gujarati (moved from Malacca st in 1972) # 44 ?? K Syed Mohamed Provision Shop (Anarkali&Ponni rice wholesalers today), Tamil Muslim # 46 Sikh Provision shop ?? # 48 ?? # 48A ?? Jumabhoy& Sons branch (2nd or 3rd floor) commodity traders, Gujarati Khoja Muslims # 50 Hira Singh – Provision shop, Sikh (Gyan's Singh’s brother) # 50A/B – Sisindia Shipping Co – Indian shipping co, upstairs Chettiar private kittangi # 50 O RamasamyNadar provision/toddy shop (among richest Tamils before WW2) # 52 Sugar company - Chinese # 54 Kittangi – financing, Chettiars # 56 Sugar company - Chinese (same owner as #52) Side lane # 62 Bapulal & Co - commodity traders, Gujarati # ?? Lal Singh – sports equipment, Sikh # ?? Boon Teck - ??, Chinese # ?? Odeon barber shop - barber ground floor, Indian Tamil /2nd floor Indian goldsmiths # ?? Flour & curry mill – mill ground floor Indian Tamils; canteen upstairs – Indian Tamil # ?? Parasuram Brothers - commodity traders, Gujarati # 66 Harbans& Co –provision shop, Sikh # ?? Himat Singh – provision shop, Sikh # ?? Ranjit Singh – Provision shop, Sikh Telok Ayer cuts here at the junction a few Indian shops spill into Telok Ayer including: # 7 Noor Mohd& Co. - provisions shop, Tamil Muslim # ?? Adriano ?? – Rattan shop, Ceylonese Catholics After the junction mostly Chinese shop houses. Corner – Chinese coffee shop and charcoal seller (likely rebuilt into a modern 4 storey office building in the 60s or 70s as Indo-Commercial Building- 4 storey) # ?? P Govindasamy Pillai had upto 5 shop houses here. In the 60s or 70s he vacated and moved out to Serangoon Road. These shop houses were then tenanted by mostly Chinese businesses. # ?? DF Rasulbhai - commodity traders, Hindu Gujarati # ?? Tian Bee Pte Ltd – wholesalers of Frankincense, Chinese # Tee Jik Sen – wholesalers of Frankincense, Chinese # 84 Gandilal& Sons - commodity traders, Gujarati # 86 Robert Wee & Co . – sharebrokers, Chinese # 96 Chan Sze On & Co. – auditors, Chinese # 100 Kay Hian& Co. – sharebrokers, Chinese # ?? Deepak Trading - commodity traders, Hindu Gujarati # ?? Tai Keng Rubber Merchants - Chinese # ?? Sean & Co – Share brokers ??, Chinese # ?? Panakchand - commodity traders, Hindu Gujarati Raffles Place Side: Corner with Chulia street - Amar convenience shop, Tamil Muslim # 35 Indian clothes shop – Tamil Hindu/Muslim # 37 Malayan Stationery – Tamil Muslim # 37A (upstairs) Kittangis – financing, ThiruppaturPillais (not Chettiars) # 39 Cambridge Tailor shop – Chinese # 41 Frankincense shop – Chinese Side Lane – lots of food stalls – Sultan tea stall , Karim bhai biryani # 43/45 Pacific Union & Co. – trading firm, Chinese # 47 Kittangi – financing, Chettiars # 49 Kittangi - – financing, Chettiars(Subbiah Lakshmanan lived here) # 51 Nalam Store – saree shop, Tamil Muslim # 51A (upstairs) Murugesan& G Raman – lawyers – Tamil Muslims # 53 India Coffee House – banana leaf café – Indian Tamils # 55 Bombed out plot from WW2 # 57,59,61 Tat Lee Iron & Rolling mills (later became Tat Lee Bank) #??? # 67 Kittangi – financing, Chettiars # 69 Thiruvangur Café – banana leaf café, Malayalee Mulsims (kakas) # ?? Tailor Shop - ?? # Bon Paan Shop - Paanwallah, Sikh # 75?? Corner of Malacca street – EM Mohamed Ibrahim & Co – General merchants, Tamil Muslim Malacca street cuts across here. Past the junction this side of the street is almost all Indian and mostly Gujarati. # 81 Viraj& Co. - commodity traders, Hindu Gujarati # 83 Type writer repair – Chinese & # 83A (upstairs) Patil& co - commodity traders, Hindu Gujarati # 85 M Jamnadas - commodity traders??, Hindu Gujarati # 87 Rai Trading – provision shop, Hindustani # 89 Abid Husain & Abid Ali – commodity trading, Arab or Tamil Muslim?? # 91 Desai & Co. - commodity traders, Hindu Gujarati # 93 Parikh & Co. – sarees, stationery, Hindu Gujarati # 95 ??? -commodity traders, Hindu Gujarati # 97 Chandulal& Co. - commodity traders, Hindu Gujarati # 99 Ismail & Ahmad Co . – commodity traders, Tamil Muslim # ?? Shivaram Dayaran - commodity traders, Hindu Gujarati # ?? RC Mehta - commodity traders, Hindu Gujarati # ?? Modi - commodity traders, Hindu Gujarati # ?? Sagar Trading - commodity traders Hindu Gujarati # 101 K Ramlal& Co. - commodity traders, Hindu Gujarati # 125 Shanmuga Vilas -banana leaf café, Indian Tamils; also Paanwallah # 125A Kittangi on top – financiers, private mixed Chettiar and non-Chettiars # 127 Coffee shop - Chinese Corner of Cecil street – semi-circular British Gestetner Building . Photocopiers were on the ground floor behind plate glass walls in an a/c environment. Looked very high-tech, posh and out of place. Malacca street Almost entirely Bohra and Hindu/Jain Gujarati commodity trading houses in the shop houses. Shop houses on the Singapre river side till Meyer building which faces Raffles Place. On the Cecil street side there was a 3 storey office building, some shop houses, back lane leading to Cecil street, Nunes building and one or 2 buildings up to D’Almeida street. Singapore River Side : Meyer Building – UOB bank facing Raffles Place and many British law firms,agency houses # ?? Jinnah café – coffee shop, Pathan # ?? Jumabhoy – commodities/ship tickets, Bohra Gujaratis # ?? Ranchordas&Purushotamdas - spices, Gujarati Hindus # ?? Makanlal – spices, Marwadi Back lane Stationery shop - stationery, Tamil Muslim # 16 Nomanbhoy Trading – spices, Bohra Karachi Overseas Trading – spices, Bohra (Kapadia) Elias Borthers – ??, Jewish Abdul Razak – spices, Arab Indo-Straits Trading – spices, Bohra (Hassanbhai) JitendraKantilal – spices, Gujarati Paanwalla – paan, Sikh Cecil Street side: · Market street facing corner building with a few floors · Coffee shop - Chinese · Typewriter repair - Chinese · Viraj& Co - spices, Gujarati · # 11B Amalgamated Engineering – Sri Lankan Tamil - upstairs · # 11 Manilal& Sons – Ground floor – spices, Gujarati · # 11 Ganpat Ram Travel agency – Hindustani – downstairs · # 10 Long house coffeeshop – along the lane – Yew Lee Bar & Restaurant, Chop Chin Joo, Tuan Hock · # 10A upstairs – Lee & Lee law firm first office · Lane – lots of food shops – connects to Cecil street and Medieros building · Mamak shop at corner – Tamil Muslim · Nunes Building – OCBC bank at the basement and a number of Asian professional firms · #3 Indo-Australian Trading & Co (batchoo Singh, Sikh??) · # 3 B George Lim & Co – sharebroker D’Almeida Street Is dominated by staff from the 3 Indian banks. The Fullerton Square side is occupied mostly by the Mercantile bank building and the Indain Overseas Bank building. The Market street side has the Bank d’Indochine, Indian Bank and ABN AMRO bank. Market Street Side: · Bank d’Indochine - Corner beautiful colonial building · UCO Bank – Punjabi bank · Indian Bank – Chettiar Bank, 3 storey building · Shiva Prasad Sharma – Metal trading, Hindustani; owned small cargo plane – Hanuman; · Coffee shop · Bombed out plot · Lane with Chappati and other sarabat stalls · ABN AMRO bank building – 4 storeys – upstairs Evets& Comps auditors · Bar – ground floor had an upmarket bar Fullerton Square Side: Mercantile Bank building – 2 floors fro bank and 3rd floor Donaldson &Burkinshaw law firm Small 3 storey building next, inside: · Nassim& Co - property holding, Jewish · National Insurance - MNC · American President lines - MNC · Alsagoff Estate & Trusts office – 2nd floor, property holding, Arab Indian Overseas bank building – IOB downstairs – Chettiar bank · Mamak shop outside bank, Tamil Muslim · Mallal&Namazie – upstairs - #11, Iranian Muslims · CH Koh – law firm - upstairs, Chinese · Guok&Ganesan – law firm – upstairs, Chinese/Indian
