Closure of Old National Library

Date: March 31, 2004 • Location: Singapore, Singapore

The Old National Library Building in Singapore was closed to make way for a tunnel, despite widespread protests.

The former National Library Building was a library building at Stamford Road, located in the Museum Planning Area of Singapore, which housed the National Library. The library building was first suggested by Chinese philanthropist Lee Kong Chian in 1953, who wanted to establish a free multilingual public library; before this, most libraries were private. His suggestion was supported by the British government, and construction began the following year. The building was completed and officially opened in 1960 as the Raffles National Library, taking its name from the Raffles Library which it succeeded, and became a national icon for many Singaporeans.