Waterboat House Garden | |
---|---|
Former Merlion Park | |
Type | historical park |
Location | Singapore |
Coordinates | 1°17′14.3″N103°51′12.2″E / 1.287306°N 103.853389°E |
Opened | 15 September 1972 |
Status | Open |
Waterboat House Garden is a small park located near the mouth of the Singapore River, near the Central Business District (CBD) in Singapore. The park was once the original site of the former Merlion Park where the two iconic statues of the Merlion and its miniature form were originally located.
The first Merlion Park was originally located near the mouth of the Singapore River was designed by the Singapore Tourism Board as an emblem of Singapore in 1964. The park was officially opened at an installation ceremony for the Merlion statue, officiated at by then Prime Minister of Singapore, Mr Lee Kuan Yew on 15 September 1972. [1] The original statues of the Merlion and its mininature used to stand at the mouth of the Singapore River with Anderson Bridge as its background. The main statue was made from November 1971 to August 1972 by the late Singaporean sculptor, Mr Lim Nang Seng. [2] It measures 8.6 meters high and weighs 70 tons. [3] [4]
Due to the completion of the Esplanade Bridge in 1997, the statue could no longer be viewed clearly from the Marina Bay Waterfront. [3] On 23 April 2002, the Merlion statue and its mininature statue were relocated from its original location to a new pier specially built on the other side of The Esplanade Bridge adjacent to the One Fullerton hotel, which was completed on 25 April 2002. The new Merlion Park, which is four times bigger than the original site, had officially been opened since then. [5]
The site of former Merlion Park had since being renamed as the Waterboat House Garden, so named from the nearby historical building Waterboat House, the renovated Water House which was built in 1919.
Tourism in Singapore is a major industry and contributor to the Singaporean economy.
The Merlion is the official mascot of Singapore. It is depicted as a mythical creature with the head of a lion and the body of a fish. Being of prominent symbolic nature to Singapore and Singaporeans in general, it is widely used to represent both the city state and its people in sports teams, advertising, branding, tourism and as a national personification.
The Singapore River is a river that flows parallel to Alexandra Road and feeds into the Marina Reservoir in the southern part of Singapore. The immediate upper watershed of the Singapore River is known as the Singapore River Planning Area, although the western part of the watershed is classified under the River Valley planning area.
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Esplanade – Theatres on the Bay is a statutory board under the Ministry of Culture, Community and Youth (MCCY) and a performing arts centre located in the Downtown Core of Singapore near the mouth of the Singapore River. Named after the nearby Esplanade Park, it consists of a concert hall which seats about 1,600 and a theatre with a capacity of about 2,000 for the performing arts.
The Esplanade is a waterfront location just north of the mouth of the Singapore River in downtown Singapore. It is primarily occupied by the Esplanade Park, and was the venue for one of Singapore's largest congregation of satay outlets until their relocation to Clarke Quay as a result of the construction of a major performance arts venue, the Esplanade - Theatres on the Bay, which took its name from this location.
Marina Bay is a bay located in the Central Area of Singapore, surrounded by the perimeter of four other planning areas, the Downtown Core, Marina East, Marina South and Straits View. The area surrounding the bay itself, also called Marina Bay, is a 360 hectare extension to the adjacent Central Business District. It is also the new downtown of Singapore, built on reclaimed land.
The following lists events that happened during 2002 in Singapore.
The Charles River Esplanade of Boston, Massachusetts, is a state-owned park situated in the Back Bay area of the city, on the south bank of the Charles River Basin.
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Merlion Park is a famous Singapore landmark and a major tourist attraction, located at One Fullerton, Singapore, near the Central Business District (CBD). The Merlion is a mythical creature with a lion's head and the body of a fish that is widely used as a mascot and national personification of Singapore. Two Merlion statues are located at the park. The original Merlion structure measures 8.6 meters tall and spouts water from its mouth. It has subsequently been joined by a Merlion cub, which is located near the original statue and measures just 2 metres tall.
Sentosa Musical Fountain, also known as the Magical Fountain of Sentosa, or as the Musical Fountain by locals, was a former musical fountain water feature and entertainment venue made by Waltzing Waters on Sentosa Island in Singapore. It was located on a now-demolished portion of the Imbiah Lookout entertainment zone on the island. The Musical Fountain was officially opened on 11 June 1982, and ceased operations 25 years later on 26 March 2007, and was demolished that same year. The venue arena could accommodate more than 5000 people. It hosted five different shows through the 25 years it had been in operation, including the famous Magical Sentosa show which ran during the last 5 years of the fountain's operations.
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The Fullerton Waterboat House, originally known as the Water House, is a historic water supply house formerly used to supply fresh water to incoming ships in Singapore. The former Water House was gazetted for conservation in 2002 and has since reopened as a restaurant.
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