Lau Pa Sat’s cast-iron structure stands where the shoreline once met Singapore’s trading town. The market’s repeated arches and octagonal plan connect today’s downtown food hall to an earlier waterfront market serving fishermen and residents.
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The cast iron overhead is a clue that Lau Pa Sat’s present form arrived after its original role had already begun. The market’s lineage starts in 1824, when a timber-and-attap Telok Ayer Market stood by the sea so fishermen could bring in their catch.
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UpgradeQuick facts
- The first Telok Ayer Market was built in 1824 from timber and attap.
- The present cast-iron market was completed in 1894.
- Lau Pa Sat means “Old Market.”
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