Sleepless in New York

So we arrived in New York at about 10.30pm because of the flight delayed.

New York was a city that never sleeps. After we checked in to the hotel, we went out searching for food. And to our surprise, the entire Time Square was still pretty much alive! Planet Hollywood was still very much opened, so was Hard Rock café, and the Swatch boutique, and many more… We stayed at the theater district so Broadway was just one street away. This was when I suddenly realized, hey, this whole scene looked familiar! I’ve watched it on TV, on the movies, just too many times.

But that was not what set me thinking. Amidst the high-rise buildings and modernity, you see just as many old buildings around – for example, the famous St Patrick Cathedral, built in 1868. Or Macy’s (since 1902). Or many other old buildings that are still being used, upgraded, and remained as popular destinations for various activities. All these, and of course a lot of other things, have become a very unique New York culture, and have become the icons of New York City.

And I looked back at Singapore’s very own “preservation”. We have been trying very hard to preserve certain buildings. For example, the old post office (now The Fullerton), the old SJI (now Singapore Arts Museum), the old CHIJ (now CHIJMES), the old high court (going to be an arts museum), and of course the good old Chinatown. So what’s the problem?

I guess the problem is when we try to preserve these buildings we somehow only manage to preserve the “hardware”. Take Chinatown for example. How many of us actually would visit Chinatown? Or has it pretty much become a “tourist area”?

We need to retain its originality. Macy’s was built as Macy’s and remained as Macy’s. The buildings, the activities, are part and parcel of a culture. It is the life behind the buildings that make them unique, that make them part of a culture – not how it looks, not how we can turn it around and make it commercially viable.

I don’t know how it is possible for this to be done in Singapore. What I am saying is that, with a 41 years history, we seem to be leaving behind our “spirit” too fast. Culture is not something that you can teach – you have to immerse in it, you have to instill in people. It is not just a facet that looks good on the outside. What makes a culture attractive is its long history – and that includes how the people live their daily lives, and how these architectural designs reflect that.

Culture is something we need to live in. It is life.