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The Victoria Theatre and Concert Hall is a complex of two buildings and a clock tower joined together by a common corridor and is located in the civic district of Singapore. On 6 February 1919, which marked the centenary of Singapore's founding, a statue of Stamford Raffles by T. Woolner was moved from the Padang to the front of the memorial hall. The statue was complemented with a new semicircular colonnade and a pool. In the lead-up to World War II, the memorial hall was used as a hospital for victims of bombing raids by the Japanese forces during the Battle of Singapore before their successful occupation of the colony. During the occupation, the buildings themselves escaped major physical damage, although the colonnade was destroyed, and Raffles's statue moved to the National Museum. At the end of the war, the statue was returned to its original site in 1946. In 1947 The Straits Settlements coat of arms that was hung on the tympanum of both wings of the building was replaced by the newly formed coat of arms of the Crown Colony of Singapore. It was later brought down in 1959 to make a plaster cast of the Coat of Arms of Singapore, which was topped of with two flagpoles with the Flag of Singapore on it. The hall also served as the venue for Japanese war crime trials. In 1954, the memorial hall underwent renovations by Swan & Maclaren, and on 21 November, it was the venue where the People's Action Party was founded. The town hall was also internally restructured to allow air-conditioning and soundproofing to be added. It was reopened as the Victoria Theatre. In 1979, the memorial hall was renovated again to accommodate the Singapore Symphony Orchestra (SSO), upon which it was renamed as the Victoria Concert Hall. Additional works up to the 1980s added a gallery to the Concert Hall, adding seating capacity and enclosing the second storey balconies on the front and back facades with glass. The Victoria Theatre and Concert Hall was gazetted as a national monument on 14 February 1992. In June 2010, the complex was closed for major renovations. The S$180-million refurbishment is being undertaken by W Architects.〔(Victoria Theatre and Concert Hall – NLB Infopedia ). Infopedia.nl.sg. Retrieved on 4 July 2013.〕 The buildings, whose facades were retained, reopened on 15 July 2014.〔(NAC Arts Venues ). www.nac.gov.sg. Retrieved on 4 July 2013.〕 〔 () Channel News Asia. Retrieved on 15 August 2014. 〕 == Construction of Town Hall == The Town Hall was built to replace the function of the older Assembly Rooms, where local operas and dramas had been held, that had fallen into disrepair. The foundation stone was laid in 1855, and the building completed in 1862.〔 Designed by the Municipal Engineer, John Bennett, it was built during an era of Victorian Revivalism that was occurring in Britain. Its design hence reflected this architectural influence with Italianate windows, and was the first among Singapore buildings to reflect this style. The completed town hall originally housed both a theatre on the first floor as well as offices and meeting rooms on the second floor. However, the town hall was unable to cope with increasing demand for the use of both and by 1883, the offices had moved out of the town hall. 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「Victoria Theatre and Concert Hall」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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