The Old National Library Building was a historical building at Stamford Road in the Museum Planning Area of Singapore. Originally completed in 1960, it housed the National Library and 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 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.
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“The progress
Is permanent like the preordained bulk
Of the First National Bank
Like fish sauce, but agreeable.”
—John Ashbery (b. 1927)
“That a famous library has been cursed by a woman is a matter of complete indifference to a famous library. Venerable and calm, with all its treasures safe locked within its breast, it sleeps complacently and will, so far as I am concerned, so sleep forever. Never will I wake these echoes, never will I ask for that hospitality again ...”
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