{"id":10212,"date":"2025-11-09T21:12:33","date_gmt":"2025-11-09T13:12:33","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/sgbuzz.com\/?p=10212"},"modified":"2025-11-09T21:12:33","modified_gmt":"2025-11-09T13:12:33","slug":"former-salmons-maternity-home-in-prinsep-street-set-to-be-used-as-museum-school-and-cafe","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/sgbuzz.com\/?p=10212","title":{"rendered":"Former Salmon\u2019s Maternity Home in Prinsep Street set to be used as museum, school and cafe"},"content":{"rendered":"


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SINGAPORE \u2013 One of retired architect Tia Boon Sim\u2019s childhood memories is accompanying her father to a maternity hospital in Prinsep Street, where she climbed a staircase decorated with mosaic tiles to meet her baby sister for the first time.<\/p>\n

A couple of years before, in November 1955, Ms Tia was herself born in Salmon\u2019s Maternity Home, which was completed in 1950 and is believed to have functioned until the 1980s.<\/p>\n

Ms Tia has no recollection of entering the old hospital since 1962 \u2013 the year her second sister was born. The founder of Urban Sketchers Singapore has, however, returned to 110 Prinsep Street a few times to sketch the building.<\/p>\n

Soon, Ms Tia may get a chance to have a closer look at her birthplace once again, as the former private maternity hospital is set to be used as a museum, commercial school and cafe.<\/p>\n

\u201cI recall the building having an elevator with a collapsible gate \u2013 it was like a scene out of a Hong Kong movie with mosaic tiles everywhere, and I hope it will be open to the public so more can appreciate the beautiful grand old lady,\u201d said Ms Tia of the former hospital.<\/p>\n

The old Salmon\u2019s Maternity Home was built and run by gynaecologist S.R. Salmon, who died in January 1984, and whose wake was held in the Prinsep Street compound.<\/p>\n

The hospital was also the private home of Dr Salmon\u2019s daughter, veteran gynaecologist Yvonne Marjorie Salmon, until she <\/p>\n

died on Oct 28, 2020, aged 94<\/p>\n

<\/a>. She never married and worked at Kandang Kerbau Hospital \u2013 now KK Women\u2019s and Children\u2019s Hospital \u2013 for 44 years before retiring in 1996.<\/p>\n

A private healthcare institution named Salmon Clinic was registered to the old hospital\u2019s address, under Dr Yvonne Salmon\u2019s name, until at least 2004.<\/p>\n

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Veteran gynaecologist Yvonne Marjorie Salmon was the last known resident of the property at 110 Prinsep Street.<\/p>\n

ST PHOTO: WONG KWAI CHOW<\/p>\n<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

In May 2025, the Urban Redevelopment Authority (URA) granted permission to convert the former hospital to various uses, including a museum and cafe on the first storey, a commercial school on the second to fourth storeys and museum storage on the fifth storey.<\/p>\n

The URA had in March 2021 rejected an application for the old hospital\u2019s first storey to be used as a restaurant, citing parking limitations.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe limited parking spaces nearby are well utilised by the existing commercial establishments and residents living in the area,\u201d the agency noted then.<\/p>\n

Asked why it had approved the 2025 application, a URA spokesperson said the applicant had \u201creduced the scale of cafe use and incorporated carparking spaces at the development to address parking and traffic concerns\u201d.<\/p>\n

Therefore, \u201cwe granted a one-year temporary permission for the cafe use, which would allow us to monitor the ground situation before considering longer approvals\u201d, the spokesperson added.<\/p>\n

Based on the URA\u2019s written permission issued on May 2, the proposed cafe\u2019s operations must cease on May 2, 2026, while the museum and commercial school may run until May 2035.<\/p>\n

When contacted, the property\u2019s developer, Mr Chow Kum Lock, said the museum will showcase old medical books and artefacts, adding that he preferred to give more details on the building\u2019s new uses only in early 2026.<\/p>\n

Business records show that a person with the same name is currently a director of an entity named La Saurus Coffee that was incorporated in July 2020 and registered to the building\u2019s address at 110 Prinsep Street.<\/p>\n

A video posted online in May 2024 by artist and film lecturer Wesley Leon Aroozoo of the interior of the hospital shows the building has been stuck in time, with much of the old medical equipment still present.<\/p>\n

A delivery ward named the \u201cBirthday Room\u201d, for instance, contained a delivery bed and a scale likely used to weigh newborns. Also present were basins for washing babies, bed frames affixed with bassinets, and an Otis lift with grille doors \u2013 likely the one that Ms Tia recalls \u2013 that are rarely seen today.<\/p>\n

In January 2015, The Straits Times reported the URA in 2004 approached Dr Yvonne Salmon about the possibility of conserving the building, but she was not supportive of the matter.<\/p>\n

Asked if conservation is still on the cards, the agency\u2019s spokesperson said: \u201cWe have no plans to conserve the building.<\/p>\n

\u201cInstead, the applicant has been guided to retain some heritage elements on the first storey as part of the proposed works, to enable visitors to appreciate the building\u2019s history as Singapore\u2019s first private maternity hospital.\u201d<\/p>\n

The elements to be kept on the first storey include the original floor and wall tiles, as well as doors and windows.<\/p>\n

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The old hospital\u2019s rear block previously housed nurses and midwives.<\/p>\n

ST PHOTO: HESTER TAN<\/p>\n<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Referencing the recent gazetting of the former <\/p>\n

Kandang Kerbau Hospital as a national monument<\/p>\n

<\/a>, Mr Ho Weng Hin, chair of heritage nonprofit Docomomo Singapore, said the old Salmon\u2019s Maternity Home is \u201cthe flip side of the same coin\u201d, representing the contributions of private sector medical specialists and midwives to Singapore\u2019s post-World War II baby boom.<\/p>\n

He said that not conserving the building is a missed opportunity because of its rarity and high intactness. Noting that the former hospital\u2019s main block is attached to a rear apartment block that housed supporting staff, Mr Ho said the building is likely the last of its kind still standing in Singapore, \u201cwhere the healthcare community lived and worked\u201d.<\/p>\n

From Mr Aroozoo\u2019s video, said Mr Ho, it is evident that the building contains rare patterned wall and floor tiles that \u201cexude a mid-century modern charm\u201d, as well as vintage sanitary fittings that \u201ctypically would not have survived more than 10 years after such a building was built, which shows how precious the building is\u201d.<\/p>\n

\u201cMany of these fittings are museum-class artefacts and should be accessioned in Singapore\u2019s National Collection,\u201d said Mr Ho, who is also a founding partner of architectural conservation specialist consultancy Studio Lapis.<\/p>\n

Mr Jerome Lim, a heritage blogger and author, said he hopes that at least one room will be kept intact to recall the purpose of the site, which can be used for storytelling in the future.<\/p>\n

Calling the old hospital a \u201crare example of a complete former medical facility that has retained much of its original layout, finishes and even fittings\u201d, Mr Lim said the building provides a unique opportunity to get an insight into the 1950s \u2013 an era that he noted is less talked about.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n


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