Eng Aun Tong Building, also known as Tiger Balm Medical Hall, is a historic building at the corner of Neil Road and Craig Road in Tanjong Pagar, Singapore. Completed in the 1920s, it served as the Tiger Balm factory for several decades.
Eng Aun Tong Building, also known as Tiger Balm Medical Hall, is a historic building at the corner of Neil Road and Craig Road in Tanjong Pagar, Singapore. Completed in the 1920s, it served as the Tiger Balm factory for several decades.
The building was designed in the Neoclassical style, featuring cornices, arches, columns and a hexagonal pavilion on the roof, which may be a refernce to the Tiger Balm bottle. It previously featured a model of a tiger on its front. [1] The building is among the few pre-World War II structures in Singapore to feature a flat roof. [2]
The building was opened as the Tiger Balm factory in 1926 by brothers Aw Boon Haw and Aw Boon Par. [3] Aw Boon Haw soon filed a lawsuit against a medical hall of the same name which had been established earlier at nearby 132-134 Tanjong Pagar Road, demanding that the older business change its name. He lost the charge, and both businesses "went on to co-exist peacefully for years". [4] The building continued to serve as the Tiger Balm factory for around 50 years. [1] On 10 August 1961, a fire resulted in the building resilted in the destruction of $3,000 worth of Chinese medicinal products. [5]
The building was purchased by garment maker Singapore Crocodile in 1973. [6] In 1995, the company leased it to the newly-established French Business Centre, which aimed to support French Small and medium-sized enterprises who were looking to set up in Singapore, until 2000. [4] [7] In July 1997, Singapore Crocodile put the property up for sale with an asking price of $22 million. [6] However, the company withdrew the sale as a result of the "depressed property market". [8] In 2007, PayPal moved into the building. [9] In this period, the building also housed eBay and Skype. [10] On 4 December 2019, American fast casual chain Shake Shack announced that it would be opening its second Singaporean outlet in the building. [11] The outlet opened on 7 February 2020, occupying the building's ground floor. [12]
Tanjong Pagar is a historic district located within the Central Business District of Singapore, straddling the Outram Planning Area and the Downtown Core under the Urban Redevelopment Authority's urban planning zones. The district has a rich history and is known for its cultural and architectural landmarks, making it a popular tourist destination.
Haw Par Corporation Limited is a Singaporean company involved in healthcare, pharmaceuticals, leisure products, property and investment. It is the company responsible for Tiger Balm branded liniment (ointment). Its brands also included Kwan Loong and it also owns and operates weekend and leisure time destinations such as oceanariums.
Tanjong Pagar MRT station is an underground Mass Rapid Transit (MRT) station on the East West line located at Maxwell Road between the junctions of Peck Seah Street and Cecil Street in Downtown Core, Singapore. The station was built in the 1980s, and was opened in December 1987. Taking its name from Tanjong Pagar Road, which is located near the station, it is located near Tanjong Pagar Complex, the AXA Tower and International Plaza.
Tanjong Pagar United Football Club is a professional football club based in Queenstown, Singapore. The club competes in the Singapore Premier League, the top tier of Singaporean football.
Tiger Balm is an analgesic heat rub manufactured and distributed by Singaporean company Haw Par Healthcare. It is used for external pain relief.
Haw Par Villa is a theme park located along Pasir Panjang Road in Singapore. The park contains over 1,000 statues and 150 giant dioramas depicting scenes from Chinese Literature, folklore, legends, history, and statuary of key Chinese religions, Taoism, Buddhism and Confucianism. During the 1970s and 1980s, the park was a major local attraction; it is estimated that the park then welcomed at least 1 million annual visitors, and is considered as part of Singapore's cultural heritage. As of 2018, under the park's management firm, Journeys Pte Ltd, efforts to revitalise the park are ongoing with the holding of themed events and the planning and construction of ancillary museums.
The Singapore Art Museum is an art museum is located in the Downtown Core district of Singapore. It is the first fully dedicated contemporary visual arts museum in Singapore with one of the world’s most important public collections by local, Southeast and East Asian artists. It collaborates with international art museums to co-curate contemporary art exhibitions.
Aw Boon-Haw, OBE, was a Chinese entrepreneur and philanthropist best known as founder of Tiger Balm. He was a son of Hakka herbalist Aw Chu-Kin, with his ancestral home in Yongding County, Fujian, China.
Tanjong Pagar railway station, also known as Singapore railway station or Keppel Road railway station, is a former railway station located at 30 Keppel Road in Singapore. The station was the southern terminus of the network operated by Keretapi Tanah Melayu (KTM), the main railway operator in Malaysia, until 30 June 2011 when the station ceased operations with relocation of the KTM station to Woodlands Train Checkpoint. The land on which the station and the KTM railway tracks stood was originally owned by KTM and over which Malaysia had partial sovereignty. This arrangement lasted until 30 June 2011, when rail service to Tanjong Pagar was ended and the land reverted to Singapore.
Haw Par Mansion, better known for its public gardens known as Tiger Balm Garden or Aw Boon Haw Garden, was a mansion and gardens located at 15, Tai Hang Road, Tai Hang, Wan Chai District, Hong Kong. The Tiger Balm Garden was demolished for redevelopment in 2004. The Haw Par Mansion and its private garden have been preserved.
Neil Road is a one-way road in Chinatown and Tanjong Pagar in the planning areas of Outram and Bukit Merah in Singapore. The road starts at the junction of South Bridge Road, Maxwell Road and Tanjong Pagar Road and ends at Kampong Bahru Road which then merges into Jalan Bukit Merah. At the end of the road, it is a conservation area of several shophouses and a three-story Victorian style school building, which was the former site of Fairfield Methodist Girls' School. In the Tanjong Pagar area of the road, it is home to rows of conserved shophouses for various purposes.
Aw Boon Par was an entrepreneur and philanthropist best known for introducing Tiger Balm.
Gan Eng Seng was a Chinese businessman and philanthropist who was one of the early pioneers of Singapore. He is known for his generosity to many charitable causes in Malaya and Singapore during the British colonial era. Some of his most recognised contributions were the setting up of Gan Eng Seng School, the Thong Chai Medical Institution, Tan Tock Seng Hospital, and the Ee Hoe Hean Club.
Aw Chu Kin was a Burmese Chinese herbalist. He is best known as the original inventor of Tiger Balm.
Moulmein–Kallang Group Representation Constituency was a four-member Group Representation Constituency (GRC), comprising several city suburbs surrounding the Central Area of Singapore as well as a sizeable portion of the Central Business District. It existed from 2011 to 2015.
Sin Poh Amalgamated Limited was a Singapore publisher, which published Sin Chew Jit Poh in Singapore and Malaysia, as well as Sin Pin Jit Poh in Penang, Malaysia.
Aw Cheng ChyeS.P.M.J., B.B.M., O.St.J was a Singaporean millionaire, businessman, company director, philanthropist and son of businessman Aw Boon Par. Aw Cheng Chye himself was the chairman of Haw Par Brothers (Private) Limited and Haw Par Brothers International Limited until his sudden death on 22 August 1971 in Santiago de Chile.
Chung Khiaw Bank Limited was a Singapore bank that was established by millionaire Aw Boon Haw and later became a subsidiary of United Overseas Bank after takeovers in 1971–72. Part of the shares of Chung Khiaw Bank was injected to a listed company Haw Par Brothers International in 1969 and was acquired by a domestic competitor United Overseas Bank (UOB) in 1971, after the parent company was takeover by Slater Walker. Chung Khiaw Bank merged with UOB in 1999.
The Singapore Standard, more commonly known as Singapore Tiger Standard or Tiger Standard, was a Singaporean newspaper published in English. The newspaper was founded by millionaire Aw Boon Haw, famous for his Tiger Balm and Star Newspapers. Singapore Standard was the sister newspaper of the English-language Hongkong Tiger Standard, as well as Sin Chew Jit Po of Singapore and Malaysia, published in Chinese. In 1959, shortly after the Colony of Singapore gained self-governance, publisher Sin Poh Amalgamated ended publication of Singapore Standard. It was reported that Aw Cheng Taik, a relative of Aw Boon Haw and former managing director of Singapore Standard, founded another "Tiger Newspaper" in August 1959 in Kuala Lumpur in the Federation of Malaya, which published in Chinese language. "Kuala Lumpur Tiger" ceased publication in 1961 due to financial difficulties. Singapore Standard, the Federation of Malaya edition was also published by the same press for nearby Federation of Malaya.
Alvin Tan Sheng Hui is a Singaporean politician who has been serving as Minister of State for Trade and Industry and Minister of State for Culture, Community and Youth concurrently since 2020. A member of the governing People's Action Party (PAP), he has been the Member of Parliament (MP) representing the Moulmein–Cairnhill division of Tanjong Pagar GRC since 2020.