Originally known as Commercial Square prior to its renaming in 1858, Raffles Place was the designated business district that was developed under the Raffles Town Plan. Many trading companies and banks were housed within the area, such as the John Little & Co. department store and the Bank of China. Raffles Place continued to grow as Singapore’s financial centre and remains the heart of the thriving commercial district in downtown Singapore even after the nation’s independence in 1965.
