Capitol Theatre

Capitol Centre

Built in 1929 by M.A. Namazie, an early Singapore pioneer of Persian origin, it was designed by Shanghai- based Keys and Dowdeswell.

The theatre has been home to cabaret performances, the Mickey Mouse Club and even a food depot during World War II.

It was bombed in 1944 by the anti-Japanese resistance and bought by Shaw Organisation for $3.8 million two years later. Shaw converted it into its flagship movie theatre, with 1,686 seats.

Shaw submitted plans in the 1970s to redevelop both Capitol Theatre and Capitol Building into a shopping complex with three screens and 300 serviced apartments, but government approval was not forthcoming.

In 1987, the authorities bought the two buildings but continued to lease the cinema to Shaw, which screened its last movie there in 1998.

Originally a carpark for the cinema, it was converted at a cost of $4.6 million by the then-Trade Development Board into a three- storey commercial building in the early 1990s, to house the Export Institute of Singapore and The Design Centre, which promoted design here.

In the mid-1990s, The Design Centre ceased operation and much of the space was taken over by bargain shops.

Capitol Building

Completed by the Namazies in 1933, this four-storey apartment building in front of the Capitol Theatre was originally known as Namazie Mansions.

It was later renamed the Shaw Building and again changed to the Capitol Building after restoration works were completed in 1992.

By then, the building had shops and restaurants on the ground floor and offices on the second to fourth floors.

Stamford House

MS JOY LOH, 34, owner of the Eagle's Eye Art Gallery in Stamford House, the beige building behind her. She is sad to be moving out of the building next April after having been there for 14 years. She hopes to see the area become an arts hub.

Built in 1904 as the Oranjie Building, the Venetian Renaissance-style building was designed by R.A.J. Bidwell, the man behind the Raffles Hotel and the Goodwood Park Hotel.

In 1933, it was converted into the Oranjie Hotel. It was sold in 1963 to a retail company, Basco Enterprises, renovated and renamed Stamford House.

The Government later acquired it and decided to sacrifice a late 1920s building, Eu Court, across the street instead of Stamford House for the widening of Hill Street in 1991.

In 1994, the Urban Redevelopment Authority turned the building into three floors of retail space, spending $13 million on its first conservation of a major building.

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