Roxy Theatre

Roxy and Palace Theatre.They used to call it theatre instead of cinema. These 2 theatres are located along the same East Coast Road on the same side but opposite to the Odeon Katong Theatre. Both theatres are demolished.If we walked along East Coast Road from Katong Shopping Centre to Still Road, this stretch was known as ‘The Roxy Area’. It was also the traditional ‘Heart of Katong’. From this, we can see how popular is the Roxy Theatre back in the 50s and 60s.This old theatre was there before World War 2 .(Done by:Heng Xu Qi)

Rumah Bebe

Rumah Bebe is a Peranakan shop that preserves the old tradition of the Peranakans and it displays antique embroideries, beadworks, batik-textiles, jewelry and porcelain that were used by the Peranakans. This shop is owned by a Peranakan woman called Bebe Seet. On the Rumah Bebe
website, Bebe Seet is described as a woman who loves art and fashion with a creative spirit. The shop sells an array of original and replicated Peranakan gifts ranging from collectibles to fashion.

Rumah Bebe is believed to be the entrance of the old departmental store, Tay Buan Guan, which was torn down to make way for shop houses.

Examples of what Rumah Bebe sells can be seen from its website. It seems to sell things like beaded shoes, bags and other traditional items. It can be found at 113 EAST COAST ROAD
SINGAPORE 428803 and its contact is

Tel Fax Mobile E-mail

: : : :

+65 6247 8781 +65 6774 7206 +65 9816 2177 contact@rumahbebe.com

The red house bakery of katong

The Red House Bakery is a popular reference to a relict confectionery shop called Katong Bakery & Confectionery.

This bakery was a popular breakfast haunt among Singaporeans living in the eastern part of Singapore, dishing out its signature cakes and curry puff.

It was established in 1925 and located at 75 East Coast Road. It was closed on 23 March 2003 after the shophouse where it was occupying was deemed as unsafe.

photo taken from:http://infopedia.nlb.gov.sg/articles/SIP_611_2004-12-24.html

Oral Interview Transcript

Oral interview transcript

1^st interview: (In Roxy Square)

Ben: Excuse me, may we ask you a few questions about Roxy Square? It is for our history project.

Gift Shop Owner: Ok, but I do not know much about it.

Ben: Do you know when did Roxy Square open?

Gift Shop Owner: I do not know the exact date as I just started my business here 2 years ago. I think that it should be in the 1980s.

Ben: Do you know which shop is the first to operate in Roxy Square?

Gift Shop Owner: Sorry, I do not know the answer to that question.

Ben, Zhi Wei, Jin Ron, Kumar, and Xu Qi: Ok, thank you for your time.

2^nd interview: (In Roxy Square)

Zhi Wei: Excuse me, may I ask you a few questions on Roxy Square? It is for our history project.

Provision Shop Owner: Ok.

Zhi Wei: Do you know when did Roxy Square open?

Provision Shop Owner: Roxy Square opened in the 1980s.

Zhi Wei: Do you know which shop is the first to be opened in Roxy Square?

Provision Shop Owner: I think that it is the travel agency at the first floor. Its unit number should be #01-63.

Zhi Wei: Thank you for your time.

3^rd interview: (In Katong Shopping Center)

Kumar: Excuse me, can we ask you a few questions about your LAN shop? We are doing a project on entertainment in Katong and since LAN gaming is part of entertainment, we want to interview LAN shop owners to get a better picture of it.

LAN Shop owner: Ok, feel free to ask any questions as long as it is not too difficult.

Jin Ron: Do you know which LAN shop is the first to be opened in Katong Shopping Center?

LAN Shop Owner: That is a little too difficult for me. I do not know the answer.

Jin Ron: When did your LAN shop open?

LAN Shop Owner: It just opened yesterday. We have Playstation and computer here. We will be bringing in Xboxs in next week. We intend to make this LAN shop a one-stop place for fun.

Kumar: How much do you charge per hour?

LAN Shop Owner: For now, it is free but after tomorrow, we will start charging $1 per hour.

Xu Qi: How was your business yesterday and what is the peak hour?

LAN Shop Owner: Business was very good yesterday and the peak hours are from 4am to 10am and from 12pm to 6pm. We are opened 24 hours and we have 10 workers here.

Kumar: What is your most popular game?

LAN Shop Owner: Our most popular game is definitely “DOTA”. The second most popular game is the new game “Hellgate: London”.

Kumar: Are you allowing students to come and play LAN in their school uniform?

LAN Shop Owner: We are testing it out but I hope that we can allow that to happen.

Kumar, Xu Qi, Jin Ron: Thank you for your time.

4^th interview: (In Marine Bowl)

Ben: When was this bowling center opened?

Marine Bowl Employee: I am not sure since I worked here only for 3 years.

Xu Qi: How many outlets are there?

Marine Bowl Employee: 1

Zhi Wei: How has the fee change from the past

Marine Bowl Employee: It cost $0.10 lesser last time and there were no student rate.

Xu Qi: Who manages this bowling center?

Marine Bowl Employee: Rock Production

(Interviewee wants to remain anonymous)

Swimming Clubs

Chinese Swimming Club was created in 1905 by 9 young swimming enthusiasts who named their group "Tanjong Katong Swimming Party". It was opened in response to the Singapore Swimming Club which was only for the British. It just enclosed an area in the sea for swimming.

It cost $3.21 per person on weekdays and $5.35 per person on weekends and PHs (applicable to adults and children). The platform of the swimming pool was used as a Japanese killing ground during operation "Sook Ching". That scared away the members and they only returned after the introduction of a lifetime membership fee of $100. However, the Japanese had vandelised the building. There are many notable members of the Chinese Swimming Club such as the father of Minister Mentor Lee Kuan Yew,Mr Lee Chin Koon. The Chinese Swimming Club can be found at Amber Road which is near Parkway Parade. Chinese Swimming Club is one of the oldest swimming club that can be found in Katong. It has an Olympic-sized pool and function rooms that members can make use of. Ballroom dancing, aerobics, karate, wind surfing and the restaurant are facilities that are available only to the members of the Chinese Swimming Club. The Recreation Complex is opened from 10.00am to 12.00am daily while the Sports Complex is opened from 6.00am - 12.00am daily. The Club closes around 15 minutes before the stated time to facilitate the closing operation.