2nd Shot: Ruins of Old National Library @ Stamford Road

Source: Infopedia

After my discovery of a red brick on the site and a brief role as a heritage purist, it is time to wrap up my short research on the Old National Library. We will visit the Stamford Road site again and pay tribute to its ruins - by producing what I believe to be the first second shot of the two wretched pillars still standing.

**Don't be fooled by the two pillars in the above "postcard photo". These are not the wretched pillars I'm talking about.

Unlike many people of my generation, my memory of the Old National Library and its surrounding is a bit hazy. This is because I was not an "outgoing" person before I started this hobby about history and heritage and the town was not an area I visited often. In fact, I can count the number of times I stepped into the Old National Library with my fingers. In comparison, I have lost count of the number of times I visited the new library building at Victoria Street. For some people, it is the other way round.

It came as a shock when I revisited the Stamford - Bras Basah area 2-3 years ago and found the area redeveloped into a concrete jungle and the roads realigned. It was disorientating, when buildings took over green fields, part of Stamford Road went missing and the National Museum adopted an open concept. The National Library disappeared and an ugly black hole appeared in its place.

The two gate pillars, the only landmark left from the Old National Library, are blogged and photographed quite extensively. When I realized these are not the same pillars found in the familiar "postcard photo", I wondered how the wretched pillars looked before demolition (my memory is hazy, remember?). Most photos taken outside the compound show the building from the same angle (see the "postcard photo"). Note the gate pillars at the driveway but do not be mistaken, these are not the wretched pillars.

While searching for photos on the Old National Library, I finally found two that had exactly what I wanted - a view of the wretched pillars before the building was demolished. The photographer - Lek Li Chu - was gracious enough to let me use her high resolution copies for my second shot work (thank you LC!). Do check out her album of our favourite red-bricked building, shot before it was closed on 31 March 2004!

A stretch of Stamford Road went missing; only the fence and pillars remain. They also preserved a stretch of the roadside pavement.

Facing out towards Stamford Road and the future SMU under construction in 2004. The road is gone but the roadside trees are still there!

From these photos, I see the hand of our garden city planners. These folks are mindful of the need to preserve greenspace and as consolation, grass has been planted over what was once Stamford Road and the driveway into Old National Library.