Dover Close Estate, Singapore
March 2011
Taken with a Superheads Golden Half Camera
Blocks of empty concrete buildings sit atop the hill at Dover Close. The flats, vacated of its occupants to make way for newer developments just weeks before, locked up for eternity, have started to collect dust.
I walk along the quiet corridors of the point block facing the old market and imagine what life in this old housing estate must have been before its residents were forced to move out. It must have been a bustling neighbourhood with children playing a game of catching along these corridors. The elderly likely whiled away their time chatting with their neighbours.
At the ground level of these blocks stand rows of shuttered shops. Some of these shops used to sell electrical appliances. Others, selling paint. There must have been a bakery or two, but I did not notice. Nearby, and not pictured here, is an old stone playground, almost “extinct” in this time and age in Singapore, in a shape of a Pelican. The roundabout has been removed, the seats of the swing missing.
The romantic side of me laments how old things in Singapore disappear so fast that in a matter of one generation so much has changed, and now, this estate is rapid development’s latest victim.
Dover Close Estate was slated to be demolished at the end of 2011. Does anyone have any idea whether these buildings still stand?
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Every photograph we take contains a story, but we often do not spend enough time sharing that story with others. Hence, Foto Friday was born to give some recognition to these forgotten photographs and the memories they hold. Taken over many trips (2004-present) using my crappy cameras and whatever minimal photography skills I have, these photographs serve to give you a little insight into my travels. And if you haven’t realised by now, they’ll be out on Fridays.
