Sunday, March 27, 2011

Yesteryear's Glory

Queenstown was one of Singapore's very first satellite town. During the 60s and 70s, it was one of the most modern housing estate in Singapore. According to a friend's mother, the Queenstown Bowl, which houses and Bowling Alley and a Cinema, was the place to go to during her courtship days. After watching a movie or a bowling game, there is a hawker center nearby, selling lots of delicious local dishes, to fill the hungry stomach.

Today, the building looks weathered and rundown. Fungus started growing on part of the building's walls with some broken windows, sign-boards and rusted metal railings. The bowling balls no longer roll in the Bowling Alley and the Cinema no longer screen movies. Letter lies uncollected in the mailbox and a Pawn Shop with its shutter half closed.

In the fast changing pace of Singapore's landscape, many previously so called new or modern housing estate will one day share the same fate as Queenstown. Singapore government will continue to build new housing apartments and relocate the people from the old housing estate then tear down the old flats to make space for newer facilities. From a positive stand-point, this is upgrading. Unfortunately, for the older people, who was born and grew up in the old estate, their old housing estate will only be a memory of the years gone by.