St James Power Station (8 July, 2017)
St James Power Station (GPS: 1.26476, 103.82487) is a historic building in Singapore. Located on
Telok Blangah Road, it was built in 1927 to supply electricity to the shipyards in
Tanjong Pagar (presently, it is within the HarbourFront subzone of Bukit Merah planning area). St James Power Station was the first coal-fired power plant in Singapore. The building was designed by Alexander Gordon and Preece, together with Cardew & Rider.
Due to the high overall operating cost, St James Power Station was decommissioned in 1975, and remained in a forlorn state, serving as a semi-automated warehouse. Then in 1991, when a new concept plan for the area was drawn up, leading to a redevelopment of the area, the St James Power Station was readapted as an entertainment hub at a cost of S$43million.
In 2009, St James Power Station was gazetted as a national monument. It reflects the Edwardian architecture of the reign of King Edward VII.
From 2009 until 2018, the former power station served as a nightlife venue, and later as a fitness centre. It eventually shut down on 1 September, then the lease expired. For a while, it is horded up, though plans are afoot (as of Dec 2019) to turn it into the global headquarters for British technology company Dyson, which is expected to occupy it from 2021.
How to reach St James Power Station
Take the Singapore MRT
Circle Line (CC29) or
North East Line (NE1) to the
HarbourFront MRT Station.
St James Power Station on Google Street View
(Apr 2019)