Queen Street, Singapore

Queen Street

Queen Street (Chinese: 奎因街) is one of the oldest streets in Singapore and once had a very strong Eurasian presence. Beginning at Arab street, Queen Street forms major junctions with Ophir Road, Rochor Road, Middle Road and Bras Basah Road before ending at the junction of Stamford Road and Armenian Street.

Surroundings

The area around Stamford Canal, Dhoby Ghaut and Selegie Road was known for the laundry services provided by the dhobies (laundrymen) from the colonial days. Many schools of high regard like the Raffles Girls' Secondary School, Saint Joseph's Institution and the Catholic High School used to be located here.

Churches & Hotels

Queen Street is known for the many churches that line it. The first Roman Catholic church still in existence, the Cathedral of the Good Shepherd was built here in 1847 with the churches of Saint Joseph's, Saints Peter and Paul and Our Lady of Lourdes following after. Other churches on this street include Kum Yan Methodist Church and Grace Singapore Chinese Church. The Central Sikh temple, the oldest Sikh temple in Singapore, which was built on this street in the 1930s was pulled down in the 1980s to make way for new development and moved to Towner Road. Flats and shops were built on its original site of Queen Street.

Other buildings on this street include the Oxford hotel, BOC Plaza, Midlink Plaza, Albert Centre Food Court and Market, Fu Lu Shou Complex and some shophouses. Queen Street Bus Terminal is also located there.

Variant names

• Chinese names
  • Sek-a-ni Koi. Sekani in Hokkien (Min Nan) means Eurasian, reflecting the presence of Eurasians in the area.
  • San Ma Lu, which means "the third horseway".
  • Se Zai Nian Jie, meaning "Eurasian street", referring to the fact that the street was a part of the Eurasian enclave.

• Tamil names
  • Dhoby Kampam and Vannan Teruvu. Both meaning "street of dhobies".

• Malay name
  • Kampong Dhobi, a reference to the laundrymen that dominated the area.