Yesterday, our walkabout team decided to visit old Joo Chiat, which stretches between Still Road and Joo Chiat Road. Although this area was redrawn into Marine Parade GRC during the last General Elections, residents there still strongly feel they belong to Joo Chiat. After all, this is the area which Mr Chew Joo Chiat, whom the place was named after, had built and had lived there himself. It contains the rich history of Joo Chiat with the Peranakan houses and historical buildings, and won Singapore’s first Heritage Town Award in 2011.

Conservation Peranakan houses on Joo Chiat Terrace. The big signboard on the first house belonged to a F&B business and the house is now undergoing renovation to be converted back to a residential unit.

Architectural Heritage 2012 Award

It turned out to be a wonderful and enriching experience. The first segment of houses we visited turned out a house that won a Architectural Heritage Award in 2012 by the URA. The owner was kind enough to invite us in to take a look and to take pictures.

From the outside, it looked like an ordinary 2-storey Peranakan house. Inside, it was very clever use of limited space. Peranakan houses are long and narrow. The toilet at the master room at the back of the ground floor was long to match the structure. Cupboards were neatly hidden into the walls. Art pieces lined up the walls throughout the house. The back of the house has a spiral staircase leading up to an extended four-storey structure.

Living Room at ground floor

Entrance to master toilet at the ground floor

Family area at the landing of the second floor

Kitchen and dining area on the second floor

It also turned out that the owner’s mum stays just a few doors away. The family has lived in Joo Chiat Terrace for decades and had grown to love the place. Three of the family members have since bought houses on the same street to live near one another. Her mum’s house had an interesting hand-drawn picture of a cat besides the house number. It turned out to be the neighbourhood cat who would come back each night to sleep at the house.

Hand draw house unit number depicting the neighbourhood cat

The neighbourhood cat on Joo Chiat Terrace – see the similarity with the canvass drawing

A couple of doors away was another hand-drawn sign, this time warning people to beware of the dogs. We later found another hand-drawn piece of dogs in the house directly opposite this house. Seems someone had started a trend of drawing on canvass door signs and information.

Dogs on canvass

Another dog painting on canvass

While I was there, the neighbour had dropped by as well. From what I could tell, there appears to be good neighbourliness as neighbours gathered in the narrow walkway between the houses and the road. We had the good fortune that someone had turned up with some home-made kuehs (Peranakan cakes), which we happily accepted the offer to have one each.

House where there would be a party for Singapore Children’s Society the next day. I had forgotten to ask what the sign “Jln Intan” meant but I presume it could be where the owner had previously lived at.

I could feel an air of generosity in the neighbourhood. This was confirmed by the residents when they told me there will be a party the next day by the resident of unit 69, a Mr Alvin Yap for Singapore Children’s Society. When I met Alvin at his house later, he told me he does this every year for different groups of children. There will be a choir performance and activities for the children.

Colourful pots on the window of unit 69. Inside the house, there are many more Peranakan furniture and art pieces.

Plants outside a home

Plants are a common theme in the houses, despite the limited walkway space. Some homes have cleverly used plants to shield the house from the road just a few steps away from the door.

Just round the corner opposite the Joo Chiat Park is a freshly painted wall mural on a corner house owned by a lawyer. He told us he had invited Penang street artist Ernest Zacharevic to do the piece. He had found Ernest through his Facebook and liked his style of art. He felt the side wall of his house was too boring. As it faced the park / playground and the road, it was the perfect spot to have an exciting mural.

The mural depicts two children playing on horses. The children faces are those of real persons, neighbours of Ernest in Penang. Ernest originally wanted to paint realistic horses but the house owner felt it should be more playful. So Ernest took actual drawings of horses by children and used it for the mural.

Wall mural by famous Penang street artist Ernest Zacharevic

Check out this minion’s brains

At the back corridor, some artist felt inspired to paint 3 Minions on the bollards. These were so creatively done, taking into even the cracks on a bollard to create an exposed part of a Minion’s brain.

Bollards turned into Minions

A few short steps away, a terracotta warrior with a pair of sunglasses guards the entrance to a beautifully decorated house. Houses along that same row were artistically decorated too, with one that almost look like an art gallery in the entire ground floor.

Me snapping pictures of a terracotta warrior with sunglasses guarding a beautifully decorated corner house

Opposite these houses is the Joo Chiat Park. Children were starting to come out to play as afternoon gave way to evening. A resident told me one of the neighbours had lobbied the government hard for years until they finally decide to turn this vacant land into a park cum playground for the benefit of children in the neighbourhood. Unfortunately, the resident who lobbied for the playground was not at home and I would have to verify this story another day. I could see why this playground was necessary as Joo Chiat has narrow roads with few areas for children to play at safely.

The Joo Chiat Playground on Joo Chiat Terrace

It felt good seeing the spirit of neighbourliness in this community; from people casually chatting with neighbours, organising events for the community, painting wall murals and putting up art pieces to spice up with neighbourhood, lobbying the government to setup a park and more. This part of Joo Chiat is indeed an arty neighbourhood with its unique character.

Good evening! Workers’ Party on a house visit. Visiting an old house with mainly the original design

Even doors tend to be more interesting in this neighbourhood

One of the homes with owner out for the afternoon