Completed in 1887, this building was purpose-built for the island’s first-known public library and museum complex. The idea of a library and museum was first proposed in 1823 by Sir Stamford Raffles. In 1845, the Singapore Library, the first public library by subscription, was established at the premises of the Singapore Institution (today’s Raffles Institution) along Bras Basah Road.
In 1874, the government passed a resolution to establish a public library and museum, later known as the Raffles Library and Museum. The new institution incorporated resources acquired from the Singapore Library’s collections. Work on constructing a dedicated building at Stamford Road began in 1884 and it was officially opened on 12 October 1887, before undergoing further extensions subsequently.
In 1957, the library and museum separated their administrations and the library moved to its own building at Stamford Road in 1960 while the museum retained the use of existing premises. The same year, the two institutions were respectively renamed National Library and National Museum after Singapore attained full self-governance in 1959.
In 1972, the museum was given a new mandate to focus on Singapore’s history, ethnography and art. Its natural history collection was then moved to University of Singapore and Singapore Science Centre.
In 1992, the museum was gazetted a National Monument. From 2003 to 2006, it underwent redevelopment and a new modern wing was added. It reopened in 2006 as the National Museum of Singapore and is the nation’s oldest museum today.
