This picture was most likely taken from the top of the Fullerton Building and shows the old civic quarters of the city centre on the north bank of the Singapore River. Prominent landmarks shown include: Cavenagh Bridge (left foreground), built in 1868 and named after then Colonel Orfeur Cavenagh, the last Governor of the Straits Settlements (1859-1867) appointed by the East India Company; Anderson Bridge (right foreground), erected in 1910 and named after Sir John Anderson, Governor of the Straits Settlements and High Commissioner for the Federated Malay States (1904-1911); Empress Place Building (left centre), erected in 1865 and initially referred to as Government Offices before it gained its new moniker after the public square in front of it was named after Queen Victoria in 1907; Victoria Theatre and Concert Hall (centre), originally known as the Town Hall and the Victoria Memorial Hall when the two structures were completed in 1861 and 1905 respectively; the classical-style Old Supreme Court Building (centre background), built in 1939 at the site of the Grand Hotel de l'Europe; and City Hall (right background), completed in 1929 as the Municipal Building before it was renamed in 1951 when Singapore was proclaimed a city by a Royal Charter.By the 1970s, the old city centre was undergoing major redevelopment through collaboration between the Urban Renewal Authority, a government body established in 1974, and private property developers. Part of the renewal plan involved the construction of new multi-storey complexes for entertainment, commercial and housing purposes. One such complex was the 31-storey High Street Centre (left background), which was completed in 1974.
