Waterloo Street

Waterloo Street is in downtown Singapore. The street was constructed in 1837, and was initially named Church Street after Thomas Church. It was later renamed to Waterloo Street by the Municipal Council in 1858 to commemorate the Duke of Wellington’s victory over the French in 1815, the Battle of Waterloo.

This is a typical day on Waterloo Street before the Covid-19 came to town.

This is during the easing of the second phase of the lockdown, or what we called the circuit breaker here.

There are several well-known landmarks on Waterloo Street, including the Kwan Im Thong Hood Cho Temple – (Goddess of Mercy Temple), the Maghain Aboth Synagogue, the Sri Krishan Temple, and the Sculpture Center.

Kwan Im Thong Hood Cho Temple is a traditional Chinese temple. The temple is of significance to the Chinese in Singapore, and is believed to bring worshippers good luck after praying to the Kuan Yin, or Avalokitesvara, the Goddess of Mercy. The temple is also involved in charity work, contributing to several health and educational organisations.

Normally, there will always be people coming to and going from the temple. Devotees who happened to be in the area will come by and pay their respects, and pray to the Goddess. Now, the place is all locked up.

The Maghain Aboth Synagogue is the oldest synagogue in Singapore and was built by the local Jewish community in 1878. It is presently managed by the Jewish Welfare Board and it remains to be the main place of worship for the Jewish community in Singapore.

The Tamils call the street krishmen kovil sadakku or "Street of the Krishnan Temple", where the Sri Krishnan Temple is located next to the Goddess of Mercy Temple.Kwan Im Thong Hood Cho Temple. 

The temple began as a shrine under a banyan tree in Waterloo Street in 1870. Dedicated to Sri Krishna, an incarnate of the Hindu deity Vishu, the temple catered to the large Hindu community living nearby.

It continues to welcome a diversity of worshippers apart from the Hindu community, including Chinese devotees from the adjacent Kwan Im Thong Hood Cho Temple.

Picture not available - Sorry.

Sculpture Square was a non-profit arts organization founded by sculptor Sun Yu-Li in 1995 as a venue with the focus on exhibiting and fostering ‘3-dimensional’ and other forms of sculptural arts in Singapore.

The buildings is now occupied by another local arts organization, ‘Objectifs’ – the Centre for Photography and Films.

As you can see, Waterloo Street is very rich in culture and history. It was the fourth largest road in the early days.  Today, it is still one of the busiest streets – especially when there are festivities at the temples. 

The Guan Im Temple is very popular with the Chinese. It is busy on the first and fifteenth day of the lunar month, on the Guan Im’s annual celebration, and during the Chinese New Year. Throngs of devotees pack the temple on those days.

Waterloo street is also known to be the place where you find cheap, dried goods. The shops are especially busy when devotees of the temples drop in after they have visited the temples. 

Shops selling items/offerings of/for worship.

Here are some interesting buildings in the area.

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