Due to its location (between town and the docks), Tanjong Pagar was a hotspot for labourers (job opportunities), rickshaw pullers (high traffic in the area) and wealthy traders (high land value and good real estate investments). The name Collyer Quay originally referred to a sea wall that was completed between 1864 and 1865. A roadway was later built behind the wall and was also given the name Collyer Quay. Today, financial institutions line the quay. The Exchange Building was opened in the 1870s and housed both the Chamber of Commerce and the Singapore Club (now known as the Singapore Town Club). The Exchange Building was later demolished to make way for the Fullerton Building in the 1920s. The Deutsch Asiatische Bank was torn down after World War One and was replaced by the Hongkong and Shanghai Bank building in 1925, while the original Hongkong and Shanghai Bank Building built on the adjacent site in 1892 was demolished. In 1975, the Hongkong and Shanghai Bank building was demolished again to make way for the present HSBC building.
