David Elias Building, Singapore

David Elias Building, Singapore (30 July 2017)


David Elias Building (GPS: 1.30175, 103.85028) is a historic building in Rochor, Singapore. It is located on Middle Road, and wraps around Selegie Road and Short Street. The building was designed by the architectural firm of Swan & Maclaren in 1927, and was completed in 1928.

The David Elias Building was commissioned by a Jewish merchant, the namesake of the building, to house his import-export business. It is the first flats (or in the words of that time, tenement) designed by Swan & Maclaren. The building is supposed to be some kind of "shophouse", with shoplots on the ground floor and living quarters on the floors above. The flats, or tenements, werent rented out at reasonable rents, according to The Straits Times (15 Sept 1928).¹

Cold Storage used to be an anchor tenant at this building. It was one of Cold Storage's first outlet outside Orchard Road area. The façade was finished with Shanghai plaster. The arches on the ground floor as well as the columns are rusticated. The Star of David adorns the corner pediments as well as between the first and second floor.

The David Elias Building was painted yellow at the time I photographed it in 2017. It underwent restoration in 2019, and reemerged from the restoration in grey.

Taking the MRT to David Elias Building

The nearest MRT station is the Rochor MRT Station (DT13), which is 400 meters away on foot.

David Elias Building is on the Map of Middle Road, Singapore

David Elias Building is on the Map of Rochor, Singapore

David Elias Building on Google Street View

(Feb 2022)

References

List of Historic Buildings in Singapore; Discover Singapore

 Sights in Singapore

 Latest updates on Penang Travel Tips

Streets of Singapore and Map of Singapore Streets

Singapore MRT and Map of Singapore MRT

Postal Districts of Singapore and Map of Singapore Postal Districts

Planning Areas of Singapore and Map of Singapore Planning Areas

About this website

Hello and thanks for reading this page. My name is Timothy and my hobby is in describing places so that I can share the information with the general public. My website has become the go to site for a lot of people including students, teachers, journalists, etc. whenever they seek information on places, particularly those in Malaysia and Singapore. I have been doing this since 5 January 2003, for over twenty years already. You can read about me at Discover Timothy. By now I have compiled information on thousands of places, mostly in Peninsular Malaysia and Singapore, and I continue to add more almost every day. My goal is to describe every street in every town in Malaysia and Singapore.