Stamford House, Singapore 2.67

Stamford House is a historic building located at the corner of the junction of Stamford Road and Hill Street, in the Downtown Core of Singapore. Originally known as Oranje Building (sometimes spelled Oranjie), it currently houses a shopping mall.HistoryThe building was designed by Regent Alfred John Bidwell (1869–1918) of Swan and Maclaren in 1904 for Seth Paul a Singapore citizen of American extraction. It was intended for Paul's tenant, retail firm Whiteaway Laidlaw & Co. Paul called the building Oranje Building, and Whiteaway Laidlaw carried out their business there until 1910.Because of a shortage of hotel rooms, Raffles Hotel took over the top two floors of Oranje Building as an annexe for a number of years. In 1933, Seth's daughter Theodara Van Hein renovated the building and converted to become the Oranje Hotel. Before the Japanese Occupation of Singapore in February 1942, a number of survivors of the Prince of Wales and the Repulse were housed in the Oranje Hotel.During the Japanese Occupation, the building continued to be used by the Japanese forces as a hotel. After World War II, the hotel rooms were rented out and ground floor of the building used as shops.