Looking for a hidden gem where you can learn about historic architecture in Singapore? Or just want a place to walk with dozens of beautiful buildings? Head to the compact, elegant area around Neil Road, home to the Blair Plain shophouses.

Blair Plain: Shophouses Across the Eras

In the early 1990s, Singapore was in the middle of a giant tear-down-the-old, put-up-the-new enterprise. Fortunately, the shophouses along Blair, Everton, Spottiswoode, Kampong Bahru, and Neil Roads all gained protection under the umbrella of the Blair Plain Conservation Area.

This means that you can now see shophouses from a range of historical periods, starting with the simple, short, two-story affairs of the Early Shophouse Era on Kampong Bahru. Just around the corner, shophouses of the early 1900s First Transitional Shophouse Style – slightly more ornamented – stand tall on Spottiswoode Road.

On Blair Road, you can see the many ways in which the builders of the Late Shophouse Style went all out, adding elaborate ornamentation …

… including wild and intricate plasterwork.

The late 1930s saw a move to a bit more restraint by some designers, as builders in the Second Transitional Shophouse Style pulled back on the ornamentation.

The 1930s also saw the introduction of the Art Deco shophouse (on Everton Road, in an unusual hybrid, you can see Art Deco mixed with a bit of Arts & Crafts).

A Quick Walk Through Singapore’s Shophouse Styles

Want a quick primer on how to tell what kind of shophouse you’re seeing? Here’s what to look for:

• Early: low, simple construction with minimal ornamentation
• First Transitional: taller facades, shuttered windows, and often only two upstairs windows
• Late: highly ornamented with tiles, plasterwork, and three richly decorated upstairs windows
• Second Transitional: more streamlined designs with ornately carved transoms and a decreased use of plasterwork and tiles
• Art Deco: geometric decoration, clean lines, and an emphasis on proportion rather than ornamentation

Blair Plain Shophouse Standouts

There are some unusual shophouses in Blair Plain, such as this one at 59 Blair Road, built on a trapezoid-shaped lot with a Venetian-style loggia …

… and this amazing example at 66 Spottiswoode Road, which boasts the only known 19th-century Chinese fresco in Singapore.

The fanciest shophouses of Blair Plain front busy Neil Road.

When it reopens, you will be able to visit Baba House, a shophouse museum that shows visitors how wealthy Peranakan merchants would have lived in the early- to mid-1900s (for more on the history and culture of Singapore’s Peranakans, make sure to read about the Peranakan Museum).

It’s All in the Details: Plasterwork, Tiles, and More

There’s so much to look at in these shophouses. For starters, there’s the amazing plasterwork:

While floral, fruit, and scrollwork were the norm, you can also find lots of animal images. But this is the only plaster design I’ve seen with fish.

Then there are the tiles. Made in Europe and a favorite with the early 20th-century Peranakans, they might be set into the second-story facades of the most heavily ornamented buildings …

… or set along the base of the first story facade in slightly more modest Late and Second Transitional Shophouse Style homes:

These tiles are everywhere (and as you can see in the peacock tiles, some have been updated for modern tastes).

Ways In and Out: Doors, Windows, and Vents

Another distinctive feature of many shophouses is the pintu pagar, or swinging door:

Vents over the first-floor windows were often shaped like stylized bat wings (bats, representing prosperity and longevity, are an auspicious symbol in Chinese culture – you can see the same shape in the green panels of the doors above):

Some houses have scrollwork rather than vents above the windows.

A few of the very wealthiest homes were ornamented with jian nan, ceramic pieces broken up and made into figurines:

These jian nan decorations are usually found just above the tile canopy, between the first and second floors.

Wooden carvings also made their way into the occasional building design.

I was a huge fan of this gate on Neil Road, which features a bat motif:

While the rest of the house might have ornamentation nearly everywhere, windows with simple wooden shutters were the norm on the second floor …

… though the top band of very small windows might be set with stained glass:

Grand Entrances: Five Foot Ways and Front Courtyards

Back on the ground floor, most shophouses were set back from the street by the five foot way, a covered area that protected passers-by from the sun and the rain.

Terracotta tiles were used as flooring in Singapore’s earlier five foot ways …

… but the early 1900s saw a move to encaustic tiles, cement, and mosaic – all highly decorated. Some five foot ways are still a riot of color and pattern:

Families with more money set their homes further back from the street – so rather than five foot ways, they had front entrance areas hidden behind gates. These front spaces once were used to welcome guests and keep the hustle and bustle of the city streets at a distance. Now many of them are either car parking areas or tranquil sitting spots.

Scenes of Old Singapore: Everyday Life in Blair Plain

Many shophouses were not just residential; instead, they housed businesses on the first floor (this is still often the case in Singapore today, though it’s rare in Blair Plain).

As a side note, if you want to see scenes of Peranakan life, you can stroll by the neighborhood’s three murals by Yip Yew Chong. Here is a traditional kitchen scene:

His work will also give you a glimpse into what life on the street would have looked like in mid-20th century Singapore, with amahs doing their washing …

… hawkers strolling by with snacks …

… and barbers plying their trade right out on the sidewalk:

Before You Go to See the Blair Plain Shophouses

• Closest MRTs: Tanjong Pagar, Maxwell, and Outram Park
• Time Needed: 45 minutes to 1 hour
• Best Time to Visit: Early morning or late afternoon for softer light and kinder temperatures
• Other Nearby Attractions: Chinatown, Duxton Hill, and NUS Baba House (whenever it reopens)
• Cost: Free

Want to explore more shophouses? Head to Chinatown, Emerald Hill, Geylang Serai, or Joo Chiat for other great examples. And for an entirely different shophouse experience, travel across the border to see the shophouses of George Town, Penang, in Malaysia.