City Hall, Singapore

City Hall in Singapore is the former municipal headquarters of the British colonial administration at the Padang, the central lawn of the Civic District. The neoclassical building was constructed from 1926 to 1929 after plans by the Singapore Municipal Commission under A. Gordon and FD Meadows. The massive 18-column Corinthian front was the setting for the Japanese surrender in Southeast Asia to Lord Mountbatten in 1945 and the swearing-in of Lee Kuan Yew as first prime minister in 1959. Since 1992 the building has been a National Monument. After a long conversion, it reopened in 2015 together with the neighboring former Supreme Court as National Gallery Singapore, the largest public collection of Southeast Asian art. Visitors today can explore the colonnade, the grand staircase and a rooftop terrace overlooking Marina Bay, plus permanent collections from Raden Saleh to Liu Kang.