Read Bridge is still as famous as it used to be in the past. Back in
the old days, it was a popular gathering venue among labourers to listen to
storytellers. Today, it is a lively meeting nightspot for Singaporeans
and foreigners.
The bridge was built in 1889 and it was named after a prominent
merchant, William Henry McLeod Read. It was primarily built
to resolve the problem arising from another bridge called the Merchant Bridge. Due
to the fact that the Merchant Bridge was not built high enough to allow boats
to pass under it during high tide, the Read Bridge was built to replace it.
At one point of time, the area around the bridge
was also a well-known region. The upstream area from the Read Bridge used to be
the vibrant fuel center. The region was known as Kampong Melaka as the main
supply of fuel mostly came from Malacca. Owing to that, Read Bridge also became
known as Malacca Bridge.
Nearby historical building - Masjid Omar Kampong Melaka
As much as we wanted to locate the mosque, we were unable to
do so. Perhaps, we had missed it but we managed to find the some information
about this building.
Masjid Omar Kampong Melaka was built in 1820. As
the name suggests, ‘Masjid’ means mosque in Malay and it was the first mosque
and house of prayer in Singapore. The mosque was named after Syed Omar bin Ali
Aljunied, an Arab merchant from Palembang.
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