Centrepoint research

Name of location: Centrepoint  

Exact Location: 176 Orchard Road

                             Singapore 238843

History of location:  There was a railway line which linked Malaysia with Singapore, built in 1900. A bridge, where trains crossed over Orchard Road, is where The Centrepoint is located now. It was believed that when any train crossed, pedestrians came to a standstill since the Chinese believed that it brings bad luck if a train crossed above your head.

In 1917, Cold Storage bought over the space of some shophouses in Orchard Road. This was known as the Cold Storage Depot. In 1919, the first outlet was opened. The most remembered was the Cold Storage’s Magnolia Milk Bars in the 1950s.

Before the 1980s, the old Cold Storage building went through renovation. Later, the building was extended and was named as Centrepoint Shopping Centre and eventually was named as The Centrepoint.  

The Centrepoint is managed by Frasers Centrepoint Limited which is a subsidiary of Fraser and Neave. In 2005, The Centrepoint was under major renovation and there was a six-storey extension with two basements. In December 2006, the building was completed. 

Today, The Centrepoint is well-known as a multi-faceted shopping mall in Singapore. It consists of the Robinsons department store as well as the largest Marks and Spencer outlet and many other popular shops. The shopping mall has made some records which have entered into Guinness Book of World Records and Singapore Book of Records for its feat in the Tallest Chocolate Sculpture at the end of year 2008. The Centrepoint has clinched several other awards too. Till now, Centrepoint is somewhere tourists and Singaporeans would want to shop and can get their branded items easily.

Why was it chosen?

Since they were looking towards modernizing Orchard Road and also because it was going to be a shopping district, the train bridge and Cold Storage were removed to make place for a shopping mall that not only holds supermarkets but also shops for people to buy clothes and other necessities from.

http://timesofmylife.wordpress.com/2009/11/18/from-railway-track-to-the-centrepoint-part-2-of-2/

http://www.myonlinetour.com/poi/orchard/guide.pdf

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_CentrePoint

http://www.yoursingapore.com/content/traveller/en/browse/shopping/shopping-malls/centrepoint.html
http://timesofmylife.wordpress.com/2009/11/09/from-railway-track-to-the-centrepoint-part-1-of-2/