thumb|Gresham House from ''Twentieth Century Impressions of British Malaya'' (1908) '''Gresham House''' was a historic landmark on Battery Road near the junction with Fullerton Square in Singapore. Completed in 1893, it was initially to serve as the premises of the Singapore Insurance Company, though that firm went into liquidation toward the end of 1892 before the building was ready for occupation.
The building was instead occupied by McAlister & Co., whose previous premises had been razed in a fire. In its first three decades, it had G. R. Lambert & Co., the Singapore Cold Storage Company, architectural partnership Keys & Dowdeswell, several engineers, dentists and the registered offices of several mining and rubber companies as tenants. It eventually came to serve primarily as the head offices of McAlister & Co. The building was demolished in the mid-1960s, alongside two neighbouring historical buildings, to make way for the Straits Trading Building.
==Description== The three-storey building was described in ''Singapore Free Press And Mercantile Advertiser'' as "being of the Renaissance type", likening it to the nearby and "more ornately treated" Straits Insurance Building,<ref name = "SFP">{{cite news |last= |first= |date= 24 August 1892|title= The Strait Insurance Co.|url=https://eresources.nlb.gov.sg/newspapers/digitised/article/singfreepressb18920824-1.2.7|work= Singapore Free Press And Mercantile Advertiser|location= Singapore|access-date= 30 April 2026}}</ref> though writer Julian Davison noted that the newspapers of the day often described "any kind of building with a vaguely Classical mien" as 'Renaissance'.<ref name = "Davison">{{cite book|title= Swan & Maclaren: A Story of Singapore Architecture|page= 23|isbn= 193593547X|access-date=|last1= Davison|first1= Julian|publisher=ORO Editions|year=2020|url=}}</ref> Like the Straits Insurance Building, it was also to feature a "symmetrically disposed" façade.<ref name = "SFP"/> The depth at the end closest to Fullerton Square was 29ft 6in.<ref name = "SFP2">{{cite news |last= |first= |date= 18 August 1896|title= Legislative Council.|url= https://eresources.nlb.gov.sg/newspapers/digitised/article/singfreepresswk18960818-1.2.74|work= Singapore Free Press And Mercantile Advertiser|location= Singapore|access-date= 30 April 2026}}</ref> The ''Mid-Day Herald'' opined in 1897 that the narrow width of Battery Road resulted in the building being "quite lost where it [was], as its beauties of architecture [were] not seen to advantage."<ref>{{cite news |last= |first= |date= 23 August 1897|title= Singapore Town.|url= https://eresources.nlb.gov.sg/newspapers/digitised/article/middayherald18970823-1.2.6|work= Mid-Day Herald|location= Singapore|access-date= 30 April 2026}}</ref> By the late 1900s, there was a verandah way which ran from the building to the Kelly & Walsh Building on Raffles Place.<ref name = "SP3">{{cite news |last= |first= |date= 5 July 1909|title= Round About the Town.|url= https://eresources.nlb.gov.sg/newspapers/digitised/article/singfreepressb19090705-1.2.30|work= Singapore Free Press And Mercantile Advertiser|location= Singapore|access-date= 1 May 2026}}</ref>
==History== ===Singapore Insurance Company=== [[File:Battery Road Singapore c.1924.jpg|thumb|Gresham House (centre) on Battery Road in the 1920s. On either side are the Medical Hall (left) and the Howarth Erskine Building, and directly across the street is the Chartered Bank Building and the barely visible Whiteaway Laidlaw Building.]] By May 1892, there were rumours that the Singapore Insurance Company intended to acquire a plot of land to erect a new premises for $50,000, and to spend a similar amount on construction.<ref>{{cite news |last= |first= |date= 6 May 1892|title= Friday, May 6, 1892|url=https://eresources.nlb.gov.sg/newspapers/digitised/article/singfreepressb18920506-1.2.3|work= Singapore Free Press And Mercantile Advertiser|location= Singapore|access-date= 30 April 2026}}</ref> Later in the month, the firm acquired a plot along Battery Road near Fullerton Square, formerly occupied by the factory of the Straits Aerated Water Company which had removed to newer premises on Robinson Road.<ref>{{cite news |last= |first= |date= 8 January 1897|title= Local Industries.|url= https://eresources.nlb.gov.sg/newspapers/digitised/article/straitstimes18970108-1.2.36|work= The Straits Times|location= Singapore|access-date= 30 April 2026}}</ref> The company announced that the new building was to have shops and offices which would be sublet, and that this investment was projected to have an 8% return. The directors considered this a "very satisfactory investment, especially in view of the growing difficulty of placing funds on good projects, and the lower interest by the Banks for money on fixed deposit.<ref>{{cite news |last= |first= |date= 24 May 1892|title= Singapore Insurance Company.|url= https://eresources.nlb.gov.sg/newspapers/digitised/article/stweekly18920524-1.2.95|work= The Straits Times Weekly Issue|location= Singapore|access-date= 30 April 2026}}</ref>
The land had been acquired for $51,000 or around $15 per sqyd, reportedly then the "highest price ever paid" in Singapore. The site was located within the "centre of the commercial quarter of the town" and would "more readily catch the eye of the public" than the firm's previous premises. ''The Straits Times'' then noted that this was in spite of the firm doing "contemptibly small business", with the amount spent on the site being "one fourth of the whole premia." Concerns were raised that there might not have been much "advantageous relation" between the rent paid and the interest accrued from the "investment of the sum intended to be expended on the new premises." There were also fears that the company would not be able to handle a "large and extraordinary call" after spending so much on the new building.<ref name = "ST">{{cite news |last= |first= |date= 1 June 1892|title= The Singapore Insurance Company.|url= https://eresources.nlb.gov.sg/newspapers/digitised/article/straitstimes18920601-1.2.29|work= The Straits Times|location= Singapore|access-date= 30 April 2026}}</ref><ref name = "ST2">{{cite news |last= |first= |date= 3 September 1892|title= The Singapore Insurance Company.|url= https://eresources.nlb.gov.sg/newspapers/digitised/article/straitstimes18920903-1.2.7|work= The Straits Times|location= Singapore|access-date= 30 April 2026}}</ref>
The newly-formed partnership between surveyor-engineers and architects Archibald Alexander Swan and J. W. B. Maclaren, Swan & Maclaren, was commissioned to design the building.<ref>{{cite news |last= |first= |date= 14 May 1895|title= THURSDAY, 9TH MAY.|url= https://eresources.nlb.gov.sg/newspapers/digitised/article/straitsbudget18950514-1.2.43|work= The Straits Budget|location= Singapore|access-date= 30 April 2026}}</ref> Clearing of the site began by the end of May,<ref name = "ST"/> and construction began shortly after.<ref name = "ST2"/> It was to be one of several "large and stately-looking offices" being built in the recently reclaimed Telok Ayer area, alongside the Straits Insurance Building, the Hongkong and Shanghai Bank Building and the Eastern Extension Telegraph Building, the Singapore Land Block, as well as the Fraser & Neave Building which was occupied in part by the new factory of the Straits Aerated Water Company.<ref>{{cite news |last= |first= |date= 15 October 1892|title= An auctioneer to the rescue of Singapore.|url=https://eresources.nlb.gov.sg/newspapers/digitised/article/straitsindependent18921015-1.2.19|work= The Straits Independent And Penang Chronicle|location= Singapore|access-date= 30 April 2026}}</ref> It was announced in November that the company, severely debt-ridden, was to be liquidated. It was noted that the new building was set to cost the firm $96,000.<ref>{{cite news |last= |first= |date= 22 November 1892|title= The Singapore Insurance Company, Limited.|url= https://eresources.nlb.gov.sg/newspapers/digitised/article/stweekly18921122-1.2.34|work= The Straits Times Weekly Issue|location= Singapore|access-date= 30 April 2026}}</ref>
===McAlister & Co.=== The building was ready for occupation by mid-1893. On 3 July, McAlister & Co. announced that it would occupy the entire ground floor of the building. This was because their previous premises, the McAlister Building just across the street, had been razed in a fire overnight. This was initially to be a temporary arrangement,<ref>{{cite news |last= |first= |date= 4 July 1893|title= McAlister & Co.|url= https://eresources.nlb.gov.sg/newspapers/digitised/article/dailyadvertiser18930704-1.2.10.1|work= The Daily Advertiser|location= Singapore|access-date= 30 April 2026}}</ref> with the Singapore Insurance Company, then still undergoing liquidation, leasing the entire ground floor to McAlister & Co. on the "express stipulation that no hazardous goods be stored therein." However, McAlister & Co. would remain there, and eventually the building would officially house the firm's head offices. The property was then known as the New Building.<ref>{{cite news |last= |first= |date= 25 July 1893|title= Notices.|url= https://eresources.nlb.gov.sg/newspapers/digitised/article/straitstimes18930725-1.2.24.2|work= The Straits Times|location= Singapore|access-date= 30 April 2026}}</ref> In August 1896, the ''Free Press'' felt that it was "probably the most handsome building in Singapore as far as architecture went".<ref name = "SFP2"/> It was described in Arnold Wright's 1908 ''Twentieth Century Impressions of British Malaya'', as being "amongst the most imposing of the mercantile buildings in Singapore."<ref>{{cite book | url= |page = 684| title=Twentieth Century Impressions of British Malaya: Its History, People, Commerce, Industries, and Resources | last1=Wright | first1=Arnold | last2=Cartwright | first2=H. A. | year=1908 }}</ref> The ''Free Press'' reported in 1909 that "vagrants" had been congregating in the verandah way from the Gresham House to the Kelly & Walsh Building.<ref name = "SP3"/>
thumb|The G. R. Lambert & Co. Studio from ''Twentieth Century Impressions of British Malaya'' Well-known local photographers G. R. Lambert & Co., founded by Gustave Richard Lambert in the 1860s, established a new studio and offices on the first and second floors on 4 September 1893.<ref>{{cite news |last= |first= |date= 10 October 1893|title= G. R. Lambert & Co.|url= https://eresources.nlb.gov.sg/newspapers/digitised/article/dailyadvertiser18931010-1.2.12.2|work= The Daily Advertiser|location= Singapore|access-date= 30 April 2026}}</ref> The premises were open to the public, and some of the firm's "best" types were placed on the walls of the staircase and reception room. The studio, located on the top floor and arranged by manager Alexander Koch, was described in the ''Singapore Free Press And Mercantile Advertiser'' as being "cool enough to soothe the nerves of even a photographic patient". The paper further bemoaned the building's lack of a proper name.<ref>{{cite news |last= |first= |date= 4 September 1893|title= Untitled.|url= https://eresources.nlb.gov.sg/newspapers/digitised/article/singfreepressb18930904-1.2.5|work= Singapore Free Press And Mercantile Advertiser|location= Singapore|access-date= 30 April 2026}}</ref> The firm remained there until 1908.<ref>{{cite news |last= |first= |date= 5 May 1908|title= Untitled.|url= https://eresources.nlb.gov.sg/newspapers/digitised/article/singfreepressb19080505-1.2.13.2|work= Singapore Free Press And Mercantile Advertiser|location= Singapore|access-date= 30 April 2026}}</ref> A Mrs. Rooke relocated her women's department store to a floor of the building, which had by then been renamed Gresham House, in November, where she remained for around two years.<ref>{{cite news |last= |first= |date= 15 November 1893|title= Notice of Removal.|url= https://eresources.nlb.gov.sg/newspapers/digitised/article/singfreepressb18931115-1.2.12.2|work= Singapore Free Press And Mercantile Advertiser|location= Singapore|access-date= 30 April 2026}}</ref> G. R. Lambert & Co. themselves began letting out 2 offices in the building the month after.<ref>{{cite news |last= |first= |date= 14 December 1893|title= To Be Let.|url= https://eresources.nlb.gov.sg/newspapers/digitised/article/straitstimes18931214-1.2.34.4|work= The Straits Times|location= Singapore|access-date= 30 April 2026}}</ref> Dental surgeon J. F. Teufert moved his practice into the building in May 1894.<ref>{{cite news |last= |first= |date= 2 May 1894|title= Painless Dentistry.|url= https://eresources.nlb.gov.sg/newspapers/digitised/article/straitstimes18940502-1.2.24.3|work= The Straits Times|location= Singapore|access-date= 30 April 2026}}</ref> Another dentist, A. P. Bowes, moved his offices into the building in March 1897.<ref>{{cite news |last= |first= |date= 16 March 1897|title= Dr. A. P. Bowes.|url= https://eresources.nlb.gov.sg/newspapers/digitised/article/straitsbudget18970316-1.2.158.3|work= The Straits Budget|location= Singapore|access-date= 30 April 2026}}</ref> Brokers Latham & Mactaggart, later Latham & Co., opened their offices in the building by March 1902.<ref>{{cite news |last= |first= |date= 3 March 1902|title= The Malay States Salt Manufacturing Co., Ltd.|url= https://eresources.nlb.gov.sg/newspapers/digitised/article/straitstimes19020303-1.2.69.4|work= The Straits Times|location= Singapore|access-date= 30 April 2026}}</ref>
The offices of the newly-founded Singapore Cold Storage Company were opened in the building in 1903.<ref>{{cite news |last= |first= |date= 9 December 1903|title= THE SINGAPORE COLD STORAGE COMPANY.|url= https://eresources.nlb.gov.sg/newspapers/digitised/article/straitstimes19031209-1.2.40|work= The Straits Times|location= Singapore|access-date= 1 May 2026}}</ref> The establishment of Camille Malherbe moved into the office above the premises of G. R. Lambert & Co. in November.<ref>{{cite news |last= |first= |date= 14 November 1904|title= Untitled.|url= https://eresources.nlb.gov.sg/newspapers/digitised/article/straitstimes19041114-1.2.34|work= The Straits Times|location= Singapore|access-date= 1 May 2026}}</ref> Dentists W. F. Dunlop and Thomas O. Naughton established offices at the building at the end of 1905 and in September 1909, respectively.<ref>{{cite news |last= |first= |date= 6 December 1905|title= Untitled.|url= https://eresources.nlb.gov.sg/newspapers/digitised/article/easterndaily19051206-1.2.4|work= Eastern Daily Mail And Straits Morning Advertiser|location= Singapore|access-date= 1 May 2026}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |last= |first= |date= 16 September 1909|title= Social and Personal|url= https://eresources.nlb.gov.sg/newspapers/digitised/article/straitsbudget19090916-1.2.65|work= The Straits Budget|location= Singapore|access-date= 2 May 2026}}</ref> James McInnes Sinclair, a commercial agent of the Victoria State Government, opened his agency in the building in June 1906 as part of the government's "great effort to develop the Australian trade in the East".<ref>{{cite news |last= |first= |date= 14 June 1906|title= VICTORIAN TRADE.|url= https://eresources.nlb.gov.sg/newspapers/digitised/article/straitsbudget19060614-1.2.59|work= The Straits Budget|location= Singapore|access-date= 1 May 2026}}</ref> The offices of the architetcural partnership between Percy Hubert Keys and Frank Dowdeswell, Keys & Dowdeswell, had moved into the building by July 1929.<ref>{{cite news |last= |first= |date= 1 July 1927|title= Tenders.|url= https://eresources.nlb.gov.sg/newspapers/digitised/article/straitstimes19270701-1.2.27.2|work= The Straits Times|location= Singapore|access-date= 2 May 2026}}</ref> After the dissolution of the partnership, the offices went to Keys' practice instead.<ref>{{cite news |last= |first= |date= 8 April 1929|title= Untitled.|url= https://eresources.nlb.gov.sg/newspapers/digitised/article/maltribune19290408-1.2.30|work= The Malaya Tribune|location= Singapore|access-date= 2 May 2026}}</ref> The Singapore offices of British food preservation company C & E Morton were located there by July.<ref>{{cite news |last= |first= |date= 5 July 1929|title= District Court.|url= https://eresources.nlb.gov.sg/newspapers/digitised/article/singfreepressb19290705-1.2.70|work= Singapore Free Press And Mercantile Advertiser|location= Singapore|access-date= 2 May 2026}}</ref> Several engineers moved their practices into the building in the first half of the 1900s, including former Municipal Engineer Samuel Tomlinson in 1901, who styled himself as "civil engineer, surveyor and valuer",<ref>{{cite news |last= |first= |date= 1 August 1901|title= S. Tomlinson M. Inst. C.E.|url= https://eresources.nlb.gov.sg/newspapers/digitised/article/singfreepresswk19010801-1.2.6.2|work= Singapore Free Press And Mercantile Advertiser|location= Singapore|access-date= 1 May 2026}}</ref> as well as contractor and engineeer William Dixon Fisher in July 1902<ref>{{cite news |last= |first= |date= 23 July 1902|title= W. D. Fisher,|url= https://eresources.nlb.gov.sg/newspapers/digitised/article/straitstimes19020723-1.2.47.2|work= The Straits Times|location= Singapore|access-date= 1 May 2026}}</ref> and mechanical and electrical engineer William Webster in April 1904.<ref>{{cite news |last= |first= |date= 11 April 1904|title= Untitled|url=https://eresources.nlb.gov.sg/newspapers/digitised/article/straitstimes19040411-1.2.5|work= The Straits Times|location= Singapore|access-date= 1 May 2026}}</ref> United Engineers Limited and Howarth, Erskine & Co. had registered offices in Gresham House by November 1913 and December 1914, respectively.<ref>{{cite news |last= |first= |date= 4 November 1903|title= United Engineers.|url= https://eresources.nlb.gov.sg/newspapers/digitised/article/straitstimes19131104-1.2.77|work= The Straits Times|location= Singapore|access-date= 2 May 2026}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |last= |first= |date= 31 December 1914|title= Howarth, Erskine Ltd.|url= https://eresources.nlb.gov.sg/newspapers/digitised/article/straitsbudget19141231-1.2.50|work= The Straits Budget|location= Singapore|access-date= 2 May 2026}}</ref> The partnership between engineers Jules Brossard and Eugène Mopin, Brossard & Mopin, styled as 'reinforced concrete specialists' had opened a Singapore office in the building by mid-1914,<ref>{{cite news |last= |first= |date= 2 June 1914|title= Engine Driver Wanted|url= https://eresources.nlb.gov.sg/newspapers/digitised/article/straitstimes19140602-1.2.97.2|work= The Straits Times|location= Singapore|access-date= 2 May 2026}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |last= |first= |date= 7 June 1915|title= Brossard & Mopin|url= https://eresources.nlb.gov.sg/newspapers/digitised/article/straitstimes19150607-1.2.15.1|work= The Straits Times|location= Singapore|access-date= 2 May 2026}}</ref> where they remained before relocating to the French Bank Building at Raffles Place in November 1924.<ref>{{cite news |last= |first= |date= 4 November 1924|title= Untitled|url= https://eresources.nlb.gov.sg/newspapers/digitised/article/straitstimes19241104-1.2.23|work= The Straits Times|location= Singapore|access-date= 2 May 2026}}</ref>
Several mining companies had their registered offices in Gresham House from the 1900s to the first half of the 1920s, including The Sipian Tin Company,<ref>{{cite news |last= |first= |date= 30 December 1901|title= Notice|url= https://eresources.nlb.gov.sg/newspapers/digitised/article/singfreepressb19011230-1.2.6.4|work= Singapore Free Press And Mercantile Advertiser|location= Singapore|access-date= 1 May 2026}}</ref> the International Tin Company,<ref>{{cite news |last= |first= |date= 15 September 1904|title= Gresham House|url= https://eresources.nlb.gov.sg/newspapers/digitised/article/straitstimes19040915-1.2.12.4|work= The Straits Times|location= Singapore|access-date= 1 May 2026}}</ref> Pahang Kabang Ltd.,<ref>{{cite news |last= |first= |date= 19 December 1899|title= Pahang Kabang Limited.|url= https://eresources.nlb.gov.sg/newspapers/digitised/article/singfreepressb18991229-1.2.6.2|work= Singapore Free Press And Mercantile Advertiser|location= Singapore|access-date= 1 May 2026}}</ref> the Kadana Gold Mining Company,<ref>{{cite news |last= |first= |date= 27 July 1901|title= The Kadana Gold Mining Company, Ltd.|url= https://eresources.nlb.gov.sg/newspapers/digitised/article/straitstimes19010727-1.2.56.2|work= The Straits Times|location= Singapore|access-date= 1 May 2026}}</ref> the Belat Tin Company,<ref>{{cite news |last= |first= |date= 16 August 1906|title= Belat Tin Company.|url= https://eresources.nlb.gov.sg/newspapers/digitised/article/pinangazette19060816-1.2.25|work= Pinang Gazette And Straits Chronicle|location= Singapore|access-date= 1 May 2026}}</ref> the Bersawah Gold Mining Company,<ref>{{cite news |last= |first= |date= 12 April 1905|title= Bersawa Gold Mining Co.|url= https://eresources.nlb.gov.sg/newspapers/digitised/article/straitstimes19050412-1.2.51|work= The Straits Times|location= Singapore|access-date= 1 May 2026}}</ref> the Kechau Gold Mining Company,<ref>{{cite news |last= |first= |date= 2 March 1905|title= Kechau Gold Co.|url= https://eresources.nlb.gov.sg/newspapers/digitised/article/straitsbudget19050302-1.2.71|work= The Straits Budget|location= Singapore|access-date= 1 May 2026}}</ref> Bruang Ltd.,<ref>{{cite news |last= |first= |date= 8 November 1909|title=Bruang, Limited.|url= https://eresources.nlb.gov.sg/newspapers/digitised/article/straitstimes19091108-1.2.101|work= The Straits Times|location= Singapore|access-date= 2 May 2026}}</ref> the Kuantin Tin Mining Company,<ref>{{cite news |last= |first= |date= 26 April 1906|title= KUANTAN TIN MINING CO.|url= https://eresources.nlb.gov.sg/newspapers/digitised/article/straitsbudget19060426-1.2.23|work= The Straits Budget|location= Singapore|access-date= 1 May 2026}}</ref> the Kampar Tin Mining Company,<ref>{{cite news |last= |first= |date= 29 November 1912|title= Kampar Tin Company.|url= https://eresources.nlb.gov.sg/newspapers/digitised/article/straitstimes19121129-1.2.45|work= The Straits Times|location= Singapore|access-date= 2 May 2026}}</ref> the Selangor River Company,<ref>{{cite news |last= |first= |date= 21 December 1912|title= Selangor River Tin.|url= https://eresources.nlb.gov.sg/newspapers/digitised/article/singfreepressb19121212-1.2.46|work= Singapore Free Press And Mercantile Advertiser|location= Singapore|access-date= 2 May 2026}}</ref> the Ting Kil Tin Mine,<ref>{{cite news |last= |first= |date= 21 January 1913|title= Ting Kil Tin Mine.|url= https://eresources.nlb.gov.sg/newspapers/digitised/article/singfreepressb19130121-1.2.45|work= Singapore Free Press And Mercantile Advertiser|location= Singapore|access-date= 2 May 2026}}</ref>, the Sungei Gau Tin Mining Company,<ref>{{cite news |last= |first= |date= 13 February 1913|title= Sungei Gau Tin Mining Co., Ltd.|url= https://eresources.nlb.gov.sg/newspapers/digitised/article/straitsecho19130213-1.2.6|work= The Straits Echo|location= Singapore|access-date= 2 May 2026}}</ref> and the Royal Johor Tin Mining Company,<ref>{{cite news |last= |first= |date= 3 August 1917|title= Three Liquidations.|url= https://eresources.nlb.gov.sg/newspapers/digitised/article/pinangazette19170803-1.2.40|work= Pinang Gazette And Straits Chronicle|location= Singapore|access-date= 2 May 2026}}</ref> as well as The South Raub G.M. Syndicate, of which Maclaren was the chairman of the board of directors.<ref>{{cite news |last= |first= |date= 17 April 1900|title= SOUTH RAUB G. M. SYNDICATE.|url= https://eresources.nlb.gov.sg/newspapers/digitised/article/singfreepressb19000417-1.2.25|work= Singapore Free Press And Mercantile Advertiser|location= Singapore|access-date= 1 May 2026}}</ref> Particularly from the 1910s onwards, the registered offices in the building also included a number of rubber production companies, including the Castlewood Rubber Company,<ref>{{cite news |last= |first= |date= 15 August 1907|title= The Castlewood Rubber Co Ltd.|url= https://eresources.nlb.gov.sg/newspapers/digitised/article/singfreepresswk19070815-1.2.93|work= Singapore Free Press And Mercantile Advertiser|location= Singapore|access-date= 1 May 2026}}</ref> Pegoh Ltd.,<ref>{{cite news |last= |first= |date= 2 December 1910|title= Untitled|url= https://eresources.nlb.gov.sg/newspapers/digitised/article/straitsechomail19101202-1.2.49|work= Straits Echo|location= Singapore|access-date= 2 May 2026}}</ref> Glenealy Plantations Ltd.,<ref>{{cite news |last= |first= |date= 19 May 1910|title=Gleanealy Productions.|url= https://eresources.nlb.gov.sg/newspapers/digitised/article/singfreepresswk19100519-1.2.49|work= Singapore Free Press And Mercantile Advertiser|location= Singapore|access-date= 2 May 2026}}</ref> Pajam Ltd.,<ref>{{cite news |last= |first= |date= 1 May 1911|title= Pajam Limited.|url= https://eresources.nlb.gov.sg/newspapers/digitised/article/straitstimes19110501-1.2.41|work= The Straits Times|location= Singapore|access-date= 2 May 2026}}</ref> Jitra Rubber Estate Ltd.,<ref>{{cite news |last= |first= |date= 30 November 1911|title= Jitra Rubber Estate to Liquidate.|url=https://eresources.nlb.gov.sg/newspapers/digitised/article/straitsbudget19111130-1.2.43.23|work= The Straits Budget|location= Singapore|access-date= 2 May 2026}}</ref> Tambalak Rubber Estates Ltd.,<ref>{{cite news |last= |first= |date= 29 September 1911|title= Tambalak Rubber Estates|url= https://eresources.nlb.gov.sg/newspapers/digitised/article/straitsecho19110929-1.2.18|work= Straits Echo|location= Singapore|access-date= 2 May 2026}}</ref> Ayer Panas Rubber Estate Ltd.,<ref>{{cite news |last= |first= |date= 23 February 1911|title= Ayer Panas.|url= https://eresources.nlb.gov.sg/newspapers/digitised/article/singfreepressb19110223-1.2.33|work= Singapore Free Press And Mercantile Advertiser|location= Singapore|access-date= 2 May 2026}}</ref> Pantai Ltd.,<ref>{{cite news |last= |first= |date= 2 May 1911|title= Pantai, Limited.|url= https://eresources.nlb.gov.sg/newspapers/digitised/article/singfreepressb19110502-1.2.39|work= Singapore Free Press And Mercantile Advertiser|location= Singapore|access-date= 2 May 2026}}</ref> Balgownie Rubber Estates Ltd.,<ref>{{cite news |last= |first= |date= 5 September 1911|title= Balgownie Limited.|url= https://eresources.nlb.gov.sg/newspapers/digitised/article/singfreepressb19110905-1.2.27|work= Singapore Free Press And Mercantile Advertiser|location= Singapore|access-date= 2 May 2026}}</ref> Alor Gajah Rubber Estates Ltd.,<ref>{{cite news |last= |first= |date= 18 May 1911|title= Alor Gajah.|url= https://eresources.nlb.gov.sg/newspapers/digitised/article/singfreepresswk19110518-1.2.54|work= Singapore Free Press And Mercantile Advertiser|location= Singapore|access-date= 2 May 2026}}</ref> Teluk Anson Rubber Estate Ltd.,<ref>{{cite news |last= |first= |date= 4 April 1911|title= Teluk Anson Rubber.|url= https://eresources.nlb.gov.sg/newspapers/digitised/article/singfreepressb19110404-1.2.53|work= Singapore Free Press And Mercantile Advertiser|location= Singapore|access-date= 2 May 2026}}</ref> Craigielea Plantations Ltd.,<ref>{{cite news |last= |first= |date= 10 July 1920|title= Craigielea Plantations, Ltd.|url= https://eresources.nlb.gov.sg/newspapers/digitised/article/maltribune19200710-1.2.11|work= The Malaya Tribune|location= Singapore|access-date= 2 May 2026}}</ref> the Clive Rubber Company,<ref>{{cite news |last= |first= |date= 11 July 1921|title= Clive Rubber Co.|url= https://eresources.nlb.gov.sg/newspapers/digitised/article/maltribune19210711-1.2.3|work= The Malaya Tribune|location= Singapore|access-date= 2 May 2026}}</ref> and the Port Dickson Rubber Company. This was largely due to Derrick & Co., whose offices were in the building, serving as the secretaries of most of these companies, and these also only remained there until the first half of the 1920s.<ref>{{cite news |last= |first= |date= 5 January 1910|title= LOCAL RUBBER COMPANIES.|url= https://eresources.nlb.gov.sg/newspapers/digitised/article/pinangazette19100105-1.2.31|work= Pinang Gazette And Straits Chronicle|location= Singapore|access-date= 1 May 2026}}</ref> Johor timber merchant and steam sawmill proprietor Lim Ah Siang was also a tenant.<ref>{{cite news |last= |first= |date= 19 February 1904|title= Lim Ah Siang|url= https://eresources.nlb.gov.sg/newspapers/digitised/article/straitstimes19040219-1.2.51.1|work= The Straits Times|location= Singapore|access-date= 1 May 2026}}</ref> Pharmaceutical manufacturing company Frederick Stearns & Co. opened its Singapore offices at Gresham House by July 1935.<ref>{{cite news |last= |first= |date= 7 June 1935|title= Stearn's Tonic Contest.|url= https://eresources.nlb.gov.sg/newspapers/digitised/article/maltribune19350607-1.2.27.3|work= The Malaya Tribune|location= Singapore|access-date= 2 May 2026}}</ref> The Malayan Coaling Agency had its offices in the building in May 1946.<ref>{{cite news |last= |first= |date= 14 May 1946|title= Coal Distribution.|url= https://eresources.nlb.gov.sg/newspapers/digitised/article/morningtribune19460514-1.2.18|work= The Morning Tribune|location= Singapore|access-date= 2 May 2026}}</ref> Asia Travel Service relocated their offices into the ground floor on 17 July 1961.<ref>{{cite news |last= |first= |date= 14 July 1961|title= Change of Address|url= https://eresources.nlb.gov.sg/newspapers/digitised/article/straitstimes19610714-1.2.123.4|work= The Straits Times|location= Singapore|access-date= 2 May 2026}}</ref>
In April 1964, there were rumours that McAlister & Co. had recently completed a joint property deal with City Developments Limited to redevelop the company's "valuable property sites", including Gresham House.<ref>{{cite news |last= |first= |date= 20 April 1964|title= Share market is quiet, steady|url= https://eresources.nlb.gov.sg/newspapers/digitised/article/straitstimes19640420-1.2.68|work= The Straits Times|location= Singapore|access-date= 2 May 2026}}</ref> By the end of the year, the latter company had become the managers of McAlister & Co. and they then announced that the site comprising Gresham House and the also historic Grafton House, situated behind the next-door Medical Hall along Collyer Quay, was to be cleared to make way for a 14-storey "multi-purpose" block.<ref>{{cite news |last= |first= |date= 12 December 1964|title= SLIGHT IMPROVEMENT IN INDUSTRIAL SHARES|url= https://eresources.nlb.gov.sg/newspapers/digitised/article/straitstimes19641212-1.2.123|work= The Straits Times|location= Singapore|access-date= 2 May 2026}}</ref> In March 1965, it was announced that the proposal for the redevelopment of the site to make way for the skyscraper, then named McAlister House, was "still under discussion with the planning department".<ref>{{cite news |last= |first= |date= 17 March 1965|title= SHARE TURNOVER CONTINUES AT VERY LOW EBB|url= https://eresources.nlb.gov.sg/newspapers/digitised/article/straitstimes19650317-1.2.129|work= The Straits Times|location= Singapore|access-date= 2 May 2026}}</ref> McAlister & Co. had temporarily moved their head offices to the Guthrie Building on North Boat Quay by June and demolition was to begin shortly. It was announced that a third historical building, the Medical Hall, was also to make way for McAlister House, and that a temporary building was to be erected nearby to house the Medical Hall store and the offices of the Asia Travel Service.<ref>{{cite news |last= |first= |date= 18 June 1965|title= Battery Road's new skyline|url= https://eresources.nlb.gov.sg/newspapers/digitised/article/straitstimes19650618-1.2.111.1|work= The Straits Times|location= Singapore|access-date= 2 May 2026}}</ref> The building had almost entirely been demolished by October, save for "a bit of the frontage" on the ground floor occupied by Asia Travel Services. This part was to be pulled down within the next 18 months to make way for a fountain.<ref>{{cite news |last= |first= |date= 24 October 1965|title= Rubble, golden rubble -and beneath it a bit of real property worth three million dollars|url= https://eresources.nlb.gov.sg/newspapers/digitised/article/straitstimes19651024-1.2.91|work= The Straits Times|location= Singapore|access-date= 2 May 2026}}</ref> The skyscraper, renamed the Straits Trading Building, was completed in 1972.<ref>{{cite web |url= https://biblioasia.nlb.gov.sg/all-sections/vol-14-issue-3-oct-dec-2018-german-medicine-deity/|title= “The German Medicine Deity”: Singapore’s Early Pharmacies|last1= Pwee|first1= Timothy|date= 10 October 2018|website= BiblioAsia|publisher= National Library Board|access-date= 2 May 2026|quote=}}</ref>
==References== {{Reflist}}
{{coord missing|Singapore}}
Category:Buildings and structures in Singapore Category:1890s establishments in Singapore Category:1965 disestablishments in Singapore Category:Demolished buildings and structures in Singapore