The Fullerton Hotel

Originally known as The Fullerton Building, and also as the General Post Office Building. It is named after Robert Fullerton, the first Governor of the Straits Settlements (1826–1829). It is a five-star luxury hotel located near the mouth of the Singapore River, in the Downtown Core of Central Area, Singapore.The northern end of the building covers the site of Fort Fullerton, a fort built in 1829 to defend the settlement against any naval attacks.

Back then when it was known as Fort Fullerton:

Fullerton Hotel presently:

The Fullerton Building, built in 1928 and was the centre of Singapore’s commercial, social and official life, once home to the nation’s General Post Office, The Exchange, Chamber of Commerce and The Singapore Club - all of which played a pivotal role in the history of Singapore, was turned into a 400-room luxury hotel after a S$400 million makeover. As the historical crux of immigration and trade for much  of the 20th century, it too has been safeguarded for conservation as a reminder of the areas grandeur past as  development continues unbounded to breath new life into one of the country’s cultural hotspots.

The building style principally derived from the architecture of Classical Greece and Rome and the architecture of the Italian architect. In form, Neoclassical architecture emphasizes the wall. It was built by the colonial government using one or another European architectural style, which was in fashion at the time.

The building's neo-classical columns and high-ceiling verandas were retained. It was clad in Shanghai plaster panels, which have been restored. The owners converted the windows back to be housed in timber frames. Part of the tunnel under Fullerton Road, which was used to transfer mail onto ships waiting in the harbour, has also been kept.

The design of Fullerton hotel was largely Neoclassicism however the materials used were not genuine. The idea of this structure is borrowed from the Ancient Greece, this can be seen from the large columns and the hotel’s structures.

With distinguished Doric columns and monumental porte cocheres, The Fullerton Hotel represents the height of Palladian architecture in Singapore, with only two other buildings in the city that share the same architectural grandeur – the City Hall and Supreme Court.

Fullerton Hotel became a source of income and this raises a point whereby old and historical structures in Singapore is being conserved and turn into a place that brings in the revenue.

Like many other global cities and aspiring global cities, the Singapore government consciously launched a drive to develop 'iconic' landmarks in the city, as a means to strengthening the Singapore brand identity as well as to attract foreign tourists, skilled immigrants and investments. Several such landmark projects have since been developed, sometimes through open or closed architectural design competitions.