Once a centre of governance, the former Empress Place Building was originally built in 1867 to house the court of the colonial government. However, the court moved out after a few years due to the building’s poor acoustics. Thereafter, key government departments such as the Colonial Secretariat, Public Works, Land Office, and Attorney-General's Chambers occupied the building, and extensions were added over time.
In the early years of colonial rule, the Legislative Council also held its meetings here and the building was known as the Council Chamber and Public Offices before it gradually came to be referred to as Empress Place Building.
Over the years, Empress Place Building was recognised as the “control room” of the government and after World War II, it was at the heart of the campaign to replace senior British expatriates in the civil service with qualified local candidates. The open space outside the building also became a popular rally spot for pioneer politicians calling for independence, in particular, Singapore’s first Chief Minister, David Marshall.
Following Singapore’s independence in 1965, the building continued to house important government agencies such as the Citizenship Registry, Registry of Births and Deaths, and Immigration Department till the 1980s. From 1989 to 1995, the former Empress Place Building functioned as a Chinese history and art museum called Empress Place Museum. The building was gazetted as a National Monument in 1992 and reopened in 2003 as the Asian Civilisations Museum after further renovation works.
