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Joo Chiat
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
| English | Joo Chiat |
| Chinese | 如切 |
| (Pinyin | Rúqiè) |
| Malay | Joo Chiat |
| Tamil |
Joo Chiat is a residential conservation area in the eastern part of Singapore, and is located near Katong in the Marine Parade Planning Area. Joo Chiat Road is the main road in the area with rows of shophouses for residential and commercial purposes.
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Today, Joo Chiat is best known for its colourful rows of traditional Peranakan shophouses, dating back to the 1920s and 1930s, that line its narrow streets. The area is named after Chew Joo Chiat, a wealthy Peranakan landowner, who built shophouses and residential units on land he bought after World War I. In the early days, the colonial government granted land to entrepreneurs.
The 1920s and 1930s saw an influx of Straits Chinese into Joo Chiat when their traditional enclave, Telok Ayer, became overcrowded. Schools were also established in the area: Telok Kurau English Primary School in 1923 (Minister Mentor Lee Kuan Yew was a pupil there) and Saint Patrick's School in 1933. New roads linked the area to the city. In 1932, the Roman Catholic Holy Family Church was completed, attracting to the area a predominantly Catholic Eurasian community.
Seaview Hotel and the Singapore Swimming Club were also opened in the 1930s, providing the area's wealthier residents with leisure facilities. With the development of Joo Chiat into a small town, the East Coast — stretching from Mountbatten to Siglap — was no longer solely a weekend retreat for the Europeans and rich Chinese and Eurasians who owned the luxurious seaside bungalows there.
After the Japanese Occupation (1942-1945), Changi Market (now Joo Chiat Complex) on Joo Chiat Road became an important trading centre for Malays from Malaysia, Brunei and Indonesia. They traded in food, flowers and spices, which remain a major part of the area's economy today.
In 1993, Joo Chiat was gazetted as a conservation district. As a result, shophouses and bungalows reflecting the typical architectural styles of the turn of the twentieth century have been preserved, as well as many unique and eclectic Straits Chinese shophouses which give the area its true flavour. The area is also known for eateries specialising in Peranakan delicacies.
The Joo Chiat Single Member Constituency is a ward in the Singapore Parliament. The Member of Parliament for Joo Chiat is Chan Soo Sen.
Joo Chiat is notorious for being another red-light district in Singapore, and the Member of Parliament has promised to eradicate this problem.
- National Heritage Board (2002), Singapore's 100 Historic Places, Archipelago Press, ISBN 981-4068-23-3
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