38 Museum Planning Area

The Museum Planning Area is a planning area located in the Central Area of the Central Region of Singapore. The area plays a "bridging role" between the Orchard area and the Downtown Core, which necessitates proper transport networks for vehicles, pedestrians and public transport. Due to the sheer size of green areas in the district, the Urban Redevelopment Authority (URA) has designated it a 'green lung' in the Central Area. However, the Museum Planning Area is also home to cultural and commercial activities. Around 65% of the area is available for future development, making it a hotbed for new infrastructure and buildings.

The Armenian Church of Saint Gregory the Illuminator, referred to locally as the Armenian Church, is the oldest Christian church in Singapore, located at Hill Street in the Museum Planning Area, within the Central Area. The church was completed in 1835 and consecrated the next year. Originally a parish of the Armenian Apostolic Church, an Oriental Orthodox denomination, the last Armenian parish priest left in the late 1930s as Armenian population in Singapore dwindled. It was designated as a national monument in 1973. Armenian and Oriental Orthodox services are now regularly held at the church.

Armenian Street is a street in Central Singapore located in the Museum Planning Area. The street covers a short distance that starts from Coleman Street and ends at the junction of Stamford Road and Waterloo Street. The road houses a couple of landmarks including The Substation and the Old Tao Nan School which is the Peranakan Museum, part of the Asian Civilisations Museum. The museum officially opened in 2008.

The Battle Box is the popular name of the Fort Canning Bunker, formerly known as Headquarters Malaya Command Operations Bunker, constructed under Fort Canning Hill, Singapore, as an emergency, bomb-proof command centre during the Malayan Campaign and the Battle of Singapore. The Battle Box is currently a museum and tourist attraction.

Bencoolen Street is a street in Central, Singapore that starts at the junction of Rochor Road, Rochor Canal Road and Jalan Besar and ends at the junction of Fort Canning Road, Stamford Road and Orchard Road. The street houses several landmarks including Sim Lim Square, Bencoolen Mosque and Albert Complex. A number of hotels and serviced apartments exist, namely Summer View Hotel, Bayview Hotel Singapore, Hotel 81 Bencoolen, Strand Hotel, Rendezvous Hotel and Somerset Bencoolen. It is accessible via Bencoolen MRT station which is located under Bencoolen Street itself.

Bras Basah MRT station is an underground Mass Rapid Transit (MRT) station on the Circle line (CCL) located in the Museum planning area, Singapore. It is underneath Bras Basah Road, bordering Waterloo Street and Queen Street. Located next to the Singapore Management University (SMU), this station is in proximity to the National Museum of Singapore, the Singapore Art Museum, Peranakan Museum and the Singapore School of the Arts. The station is connected to the nearby Bencoolen station on the Downtown line (DTL) via an unpaid link.

The Cathay is a mixed-use 17-storey cinema, shopping mall and apartment building located at Handy Road and Mount Sophia in the Museum Planning Area of Singapore.

The Cathay Building was opened in 1939 by Dato Loke Wan Tho as the headquarters for the British Malaya Broadcasting Corporation. Located at 2 Handy Road in the Museum Planning Area of Singapore, the building was most known for its air-conditioned theatre known as the Cathay Cinema, then a technological marvel and the first to be built in Singapore. Cathay Building was the first skyscraper in Singapore and tallest building in Southeast Asia at that time.

The Cathedral of the Good Shepherd is the oldest Roman Catholic church in Singapore. It is located in the Museum Planning Area within the Civic District.

The Central Fire Station is the oldest existing fire station in Singapore, and is located at Hill Street in the Museum Planning Area, within the Central Area. The building currently houses the Civil Defence Heritage Gallery, the official museum of the Singapore Civil Defence Force.

Dhoby Ghaut is a place in Singapore that often refers to the Dhoby Ghaut MRT station, a major interchange station on Singapore's Mass Rapid Transit network. As a place, Dhoby Ghaut lies along the eastern end of Orchard Road. There is a shopping mall above the MRT station called Plaza Singapura.

Dhoby Ghaut MRT station is an underground Mass Rapid Transit (MRT) interchange station on the North South, North East and Circle lines in Singapore. Located at the eastern end of Orchard Road shopping belt in Dhoby Ghaut, Museum Planning Area, the station is beneath Orchard Road and is integrated with the commercial development The Atrium@Orchard. The station is near landmarks such as The Istana, the MacDonald House, Plaza Singapura and Dhoby Ghaut Green.

The Foundation Stone of the Monument of the Early Founders of Singapore, usually called the Early Founders Memorial Stone is a national memorial that is dedicated to the early founders of Singapore. The original idea was raised by a graduates' association and an open design competition was held for the memorial project. The foundation stone was initially erected along Collyer Quay Street outside the Fullerton Hotel in 1970. After a series of setbacks and delays, the project was finally scrapped after no worthy design was accepted, which resulted the foundation stone becoming the memorial afterwards. In 2000, the memorial was relocated to the National Archives of Singapore at Canning Rise before moving back to the grounds of The Fullerton Hotel in 2010.

Fort Canning Hill, formerly Government Hill, Singapore Hill and Bukit Larangan, is a small hill, about 48 metres (157 ft) high, in the southeast portion of the island city-state of Singapore, within the Central Area that forms Singapore's central business district. It is named after Viscount Charles John Canning, the first Viceroy of India. Although small in physical size, it has a long history intertwined with that of the city-state due to its location as the highest elevation within walking distance to the city's civic district, within the Downtown Core. It is also a popular location for exhibitions, concerts and outdoor recreation.

Fort Canning Lighthouse also known as Fort Canning Light is located on top of Fort Canning Hill and was formerly one of the 13 important lighthouses in the Straits of Malacca. Located nearby with The Flagstaff and the Time Ball, the three navigation structures played an essential role during the early maritime history of Singapore.

Fort Canning Tunnel, abbreviated as FCT, is a vehicular tunnel in the Central Area of Singapore.

Hotel Fort Canning is a boutique hotel opened in 2010 in Fort Canning Park, Singapore, self-styled as "fashionable" and located near such touristy nightlife areas as Orchard Road and Clarke Quay. The building was the former British Far East Command Headquarters during World War II. The building was restored and reconstructed as a hotel by architectural firm DP Architects which sought to maintain the old style colonial glamour and the multi-columned façade of the old headquarters.

The House of Tan Yeok Nee is a mansion building located at the junction of Penang Road and Clemenceau Avenue in the Museum Planning Area in Singapore. After an extensive restoration completed in 2000, it was held by the University of Chicago Booth School of Business. As of 2019, the building served as the Singapore campus for Amity Global Institute.

The Istana Park is a park in Singapore, located in the Museum Planning Area within the Central Area, Singapore's central business district. The park is bounded by Orchard Road, Penang Road, Penang Lane and Buyong Road.

The Kempeitai East District Branch was the headquarters of the Kempeitai, the Japanese military police, during the Japanese occupation of Singapore from 1942 to 1945. It was located at the old YMCA building, at the present site of Singapore's YMCA Building on Stamford Road. Opened in 1911, the distinctive Art Deco YMCA building was the site of interrogation and torture of many innocent civilians, including the war heroine Elizabeth Choy. After the war, the Singapore government erected several memorials with some at the former massacre sites. In 1995, the former site of the old YMCA building was gazetted by the National Heritage Board as one of the eleven World War II sites of Singapore.

The Lee Kong Chian School of Business is Singapore Management University's (SMU) business school. Started in 2000, the school was the first to be established under the Singapore Management University's charter. It is a research-driven school, with a blend of education that focuses on academic research and industrial relevance. Faculty are hired on the basis of research or on perceived expertise in their field of study or practice. The current dean is Professor Gerry George.

The MacDonald House is a historic building and monument in Singapore, located at Orchard Road in the Museum Planning Area, within the Central Area. It was the first building to be fully air-conditioned in Southeast Asia. Located a short distance from the Istana, it was the last remaining office building in facing brick in the central area.

The National Museum of Singapore is a museum in Singapore dedicated to the history of Singapore. It is the oldest museum in Singapore, with its history dating back to 1849, when it was started as a section of a library at Singapore Institution and called the Raffles Library and Museum. After several relocations, in 1887 it moved to its permanent site at Stamford Road in the Museum Planning Area. Between 1993 and March 2006, it was known as the Singapore History Museum; it was given its present name in 1965.

Previously an important landmark, the former National Theatre was built on the slope of Fort Canning Park along River Valley Road in the Museum Planning Area of Singapore. The theatre was officially opened on 8 August 1963 to commemorate Singapore's self-government and was the first and largest national theatre in Singapore back then. It was once the venue for various international performances, universities' convocations and the National Day rallies until it was demolished in August 1986 due to structural reasons and to make way for the nearby construction part of Central Expressway along Clemenceau Avenue.

The Old Hill Street Police Station is a historic building and former police station of the Singapore Police Force located at Hill Street within the Downtown Core in the Central Area of Singapore.

The Old National Library Building was a demolished historical library building at Stamford Road in the Museum Planning Area of Singapore. Originally completed in 1960, the library building was a national icon for many Singaporeans. Despite a huge groundswell of public dissent, the library was closed on 31 March 2004, and was demolished in July that year to make way for the construction of the Fort Canning Tunnel to ease road traffic to the city. The controversy surrounding the building's demise has been credited for sparking greater awareness of local cultural roots and an unprecedented wave in favour of heritage conservation among Singaporeans.

Plaza Singapura is a contemporary shopping mall located along Orchard Road, Singapore, next to Dhoby Ghaut MRT station. The mall is managed by CapitaLand and owned by CapitaMall Trust. There are retail outlets over seven floors and two basements. The mall has a 752 lot seven-storey carpark at the rear of the building, and a two basement goods bay beneath it. The mall is popular with families, teenagers and young adults.

Queen Street is one of the oldest streets in Singapore and once had a very strong Eurasian presence. Beginning at Arab Street, Queen Street forms major junctions with Ophir Road, Rochor Road, Middle Road and Bras Basah Road before ending at the junction of Stamford Road.

The Rendezvous Hotel Singapore is a hotel located on Bras Basah Road in the Museum District of Singapore, across from the Singapore Management University (SMU). It is located on the historic site of the Hock Lock Kee Restaurant which began operations in the early 1950s. Later called the Rendezvous Restaurant, it remained in the hotel complex for a number of years before moving to The Central.

The former Saint Joseph's Institution is a historic building in Singapore, located at Bras Basah Road in the Museum Planning Area, within the Central Area. The building previously housed the lasallian school Saint Joseph's Institution. However, it came into disuse after St. Joseph's Institution moved into a new campus on Malcolm Road in 1988. The building has since been restored and currently houses the Singapore Art Museum.

Singapore Management University (SMU) is an autonomous and public university in Singapore. SMU is set up as Singapore's first publicly-funded private university offering a style of education modelled after The Wharton School. Different from other public universities in Singapore, students can complete degree programmes in 3.5 years. The university located in the Downtown Area of Singapore. It was established on 29 July 2000.

The Singapore Philatelic Museum is a museum about the postal history of Singapore and its stamps.

Singapore Pinacothèque de Paris was a private art museum formerly located in the Fort Canning Arts Centre at Fort Canning Park, Singapore. It opened to the public on 30 May 2015 and had its last day of operations on 10 April 2016, citing "weaker than expected visitorship and other business and financial challenges faced".

Stamford Road is a one-way road in Singapore within the planning areas of Downtown Core and Museum. The road continues after the traffic light junction of Nicoll Highway, Esplanade Drive and Raffles Avenue towards Orchard Road. It then ends at the junction of Fort Canning Road, Bencoolen Street and Orchard Road, which it continues to be Orchard Road. Stamford Road is home to several landmarks, including Swissôtel The Stamford and the National Museum of Singapore.

Victoria Street is a major two-way road in Singapore. It links Kallang Road in the northeast with Hill Street in the southwest. En route, Victoria Street passes through the planning areas of Kallang, Rochor, Downtown Core and Museum.

Waterloo Street is a two-way street in downtown Singapore stretching from Rochor Road to Bras Basah Road. It passes through the planning areas of Rochor and Museum Planning Area.

Wesley Methodist Church is the oldest Methodist church in Singapore. It is the second Methodist Church to be built in Singapore after the Methodist Episcopal Church at Coleman Street which subsequently became a school hall. It is located in Fort Canning Hill.

The YMCA Building is the current headquarters of YMCA of Singapore. It also operates a hotel under the name of YMCA @ One Orchard.