Hill Street (Chinese: 禧街) is a street in the downtown of Singapore starting from Eu Tong Sen Street and ending at Stamford Road, where the road becomes Victoria Street. The road starts after Coleman Bridge and at the junction of River Valley Road, North Boat Quay, Eu Tong Sen Street and New Bridge Road.
Built shortly after Stamford Raffles founded the trading post in Singapore, the character of the name comes from the fact as it was located at the foot of Government Hill (now the Fort Canning). Hill Street is home to several landmarks including the Armenian Church, Central Fire Station, Old Hill Street Police Station and the Singapore Chinese Chamber of Commerce. The Old Hill Street Police Station is now home to the Ministry of Information, Communications and the Arts.
Hill Street was formerly home to a hawker centre which was built in 1984, and government offices until the building was demolished in 2002.
The Chinese gave the street two names, one of which was ong kes swa kha or "foot of Government Hill" where the Governor's residence was located on the Government Hill. The other name was tiau kio thau or "at the end of the suspension bridge".
Famous quotes containing the words hill and/or street:
“It breaks his heart that kings must murder still,
That all his hours of travail here for men
Seem yet in vain. And who will bring white peace
That he may sleep upon his hill again?”
—Vachel Lindsay (1879–1931)
“If the street life, not the Whitechapel street life, but that of the common but so-called respectable part of town is in any city more gloomy, more ugly, more grimy, more cruel than in London, I certainly don’t care to see it. Sometimes it occurs to one that possibly all the failures of this generation, the world over, have been suddenly swept into London, for the streets are a restless, breathing, malodorous pageant of the seedy of all nations.”
—Willa Cather (1876–1947)