A pair of Merlions stands proudly at the carpark entrance for Ang Mo Kio Blk 216 – 222.
Built in 1998 for $30,000 by the Ang Mo Kio Residential Commitee, the iconic pair has been around for 12 years (not exactly a long time). But sometime back, the merlions were almost forced to be removed from their locations as they are not authorised by the Singapore Tourism Board, who owns the copyright and all intellectual properties of Merlion.
There are 5 “approved” Merlions in Singapore, which are the original Merlion (with a smaller one behind it) at the Singapore River, the gigantic Merlion in Sentosa, the Merlion of Mount Faber and the one at the Tourism Court.
The original Merlion, first located at the mouth of Singapore River and then shifted to Merlion Park, was officially unveiled in 1972 by former Prime Minister Lee Kuan Yew. At 8.6m tall, it was made by famous sculptor Lim Nang Seng. From then, it was officially determined as the symbol of Singapore; the top part represents Singapore as Lion City, while the bottom part refers Singapore as a port city.
Published: 23 October 2010
Updated: 06 March 2012
Wah! You’ve got it on already, and quite good. Please find one of those nostalgic playgrounds and capture it ok? The dragon type one leh… dunno if it is still in Toa Payoh and Clementi.. =P
oh do u have any write up on amk central before the hub was built? i regretted not taking photos of the bus interchange before it shifted. One bus interchange that was recently shifted would be Serangoon Bus interchange. You may like to drop by for a visit before the vacant interchange gets demolished.
Sigh.. I did not own a camera then
In fact, I missed out many prominent landmarks such as the red-bricked National Library and Tang Dynasty…
Just took a few photos of the vacant old Serangoon Bus Interchange…
http://remembersingapore.wordpress.com/2012/10/28/singapore-old-bus-interchanges-terminals/
From my memory, the old AMK Bus Interchange looks almost like the Serangoon one
Are these Merlions still there? When I go back next year, I’ll go find them! Very very near where I used to live
To kinmay, I don’t have pictures of the old AMK bus interchange but I have pictures of the lovely huge tomatoes in AMK central if you remember them! I went around taking pictures before they started with the upgrading works in my precinct. http://bit.ly/v0z2td
PS: Remember Singapore – hope you don’t mind the link!
Hi
I will try to download a number of colour photographs taken of Singapore in the 1950/60s while helping there with the Y.C.W., I hope they are of some interest to your website. I was always very appreciative of the assistance I received while there, and the many folk I met.
Ray Morris
Thanks! Those are very rare and precious photos of the old Singapore
Cannot quite remember the Merlions at AMK but I do remember a pair of lions somewhere along Nicoll Highway, back then when Wonderland was still operating. wonder where they are now?
It was a pair of Merdeka Lions at each end of the Merdeka Bridge (part of Nicoll Highway)
They were later moved to Kallang Park (1966) and Pasir Laba Camp, before eventually settled down at SAFTI MI (since 1995).
Its replicas can be found outside Balestier Food Centre and Bukit Batok East Community Centre…
Jul 15, 2012 – Merlions
market2garden/op2torch/clarinet2concerto rmb 2012.07.25