As Singapore marches onward the path of progress, many of our favourite childhood hangouts have failed to dance to the new tune of modernisation, and now no longer exist. Let’s take a walk down memory lane.
How many of these childhood places can you remember? What memories do you have of these places? Share this with your friends and reminisce the days past.
1. Escape Theme Park
Ah…Escape Theme Park. School holidays were spent here. This was where you would go for a fun day out. Anyone remembers the rides? Our favourite rides were the Pirate Ship and Log Flume ride. Do you remember the spraying mist while queueing up for the Pirate Ship ride? It was such a fascination when we were kids.
Escape Theme Park closed in 2011 for further redevelopment to adapt to the changing needs of visitors. It was confirmed later to become an expansion of Wild Wild Wet.
2. King Albert Park McDonald’s
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If you were to think about your secondary school days, I’m pretty sure the word “McDonald’s” will pop up. This is because every one of us has our own special McDonald’s outlet where we hung out with friends after school.
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If you stay in the west, King Albert Park McDonald’s was the one that you’d probably remember. Be it hanging out with friends, or studying for your ‘O’ levels in a corner of the fast food restaurant, many people among the Generation Y have fond memories of this place. Sadly, King Albert Park McDonald’s was demolished along with its neighbouring tenants in 2014 to make space for a new condominium.
3. A&W Chain of Restaurants
Here’s a fun fact. A&W was actually the first fast food chain to arrive on our shores in 1966, long before McDonald’s and KFC. Unfortunately, they’re gone now. We recall visiting their stores when we were very young. All of us were huge fans of their gigantic root beer floats. These days, the only A&W we can find is in the supermarkets, printed on little brown cans containing their signature root beer. They pulled out of our shores in 2003 due to declining business and never looked back.
4. Kallang National Stadium
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Gone were the days when we went to the Kallang National Stadium to watch previews of the National Day Parade. This was the place where some of us, as children back then, experienced our most patriotic moments. Singing along with Kit Chan’s Home, and many other classic NDP Songs was one of the best memories we had of this place.
Kallang National Stadium closed down in 2007, and was demolished in 2010 to make way for a newer Singapore National Stadium and Singapore Sports Hub that opened in 2014.
5. Comics Connection
Not sure about the ladies but for the guys, whether you were here for the comics or the buying of trading card games, this chain of comic stores was one of the more iconic names during our younger days. Even if we weren’t going to buy anything, we would find ourselves strolling into Comic’s Connection just to look around while waiting for a friend who is late.
The last Comics Connection store located in Plaza Singapura closed down just a few months back in December 2015.
Bonus: M)phosis
Fashion brand M)phosis, one of the more successful home-grown labels, has shut all its stores in Singapore last November. Citing cash flow issues as the main reason for its closure, we will never have the chance to step foot in one of their iconic store fronts anymore.
How meaningful were these places to you? Let us know in the comments!
