From the late 19th century till the 1930s, Beach Road was a very busy and popular place. In fact, in the early days, it was on par with Chinatown, Tanjong Pagar, South Canal Road (Chulia Street) and caichuantou.
Before the war, big theatres, major hotels, the famous Raffles Institution and many small piers were located here. This used to be an important cargo-handling centre.
Later, Kallang Airport was built where the People's Association headquarters stands today. In the early 1950s, Merdeka Bridge was opened accompanied by the completion of Nicoll Highway. As a result, traffic flow on Beach Road was much smoother. The section of Beach Road near thee river mouth was bustling with the activities of an important commercial harbour. Rice, timber, and import and export merchants would assemble here and business was very good then.
A Prosperous Area Degenerating into a Quiet Spot
In the 1980s, Benjamin Sheares Bridge was constructed connection East Coast to the city, bypassing Merdeka Bridge and Beach Road. The many old houses at one end of Beach Road and the slow pace of development caused Beach Road to be cloaked in a thick blanket of lethargy.
Many people thought that Beach Road would continue to dwindle. Surprisingly, the area was roused from its groggy slumber in the mid 1980s. While construction on Orchard Road and Shenton Way showed signs of slowing down due to their impending completion, Beach Road was, instead, ready to pick up the momentum and make up for lost time, just like a dormant dragon awaiting its chance to soar. One cannot help but wonder who can correctly predict the state of affairs in the world. Indeed, the example of Beach Road teaches us that it is never too late to start all over again.
Less than Ideal Building Design
Based on feng shui, the tall building built near Beach Road in the 1970s were not well designed and did not make good use of the feng shui topography in the area.
Feng shui views Beach Road as twin dragons holding up a pearl. The twin dragons are the Singapore River and Kallang River, while Beach Road itself is the pearl. With the land reclamation activities near Beach Road, the pearl was slowly shoved towards Marina Bay. This could have robbed Beach Road of its shine.
The roads in Beach Road are designed like a trap, especially the stretch near the mouth of Kallang River. It is difficult to expand one's business here, unless one is decisive, and has guts and wit. Of course advertisements can be of great help too.
In the past, people said that the feng shui of Who Hup Building was inauspicious due to its triangular shape. Another group of people claimed that it had the shape of a ship, which was bad because a ship cannot move on land.
Actually all these comments act only as references. In feng shui, nothing is absoluate. Feng shui is not unchanging. Business will bloom if traffic conditions improve, a suitable business is started and the right clientele is attracted.
In any case, Beach Road is in a state of fluz. Its luck will change and a miracle will happen, for this is a prosperous feng shui land after all.
Beach Road was once as prosperous as Marina Bay is today, but following land reclamation at Marina Bay and the construction of Benjamin Sheares Bridge, Beach Road's feng shui has changed. Although only a road separates it from Marina Bay, Beach Road appears to be much more desolated and cheerless. Seeing the influence of feng shui, one cannot help but sigh. In recent years, new buildings like the Gateway and the Concourse have sprouted up to keep the Golden Landmark, Golden Mile Tower, Textile Centre, Sultan Plaza, Show Towers and Plaza ParkRoyal company, but business is still rather quiet.
A suspension bridge leading to Tanjong Rhu has been erected in the garden next to St. John's Headquarter, linking it to Nicoll highway. Although these changes may provide some remedy to the trap at Beach Road, they are not sufficient. In order to free the trapped dragon, a major bridge must be built leading to Tanjong Rhu so that it can help ease the congested roads. Only then will Beach Road prosper again.
Beach Road was once a busy wholesale centre for vegetables, fruits, home appliances. This is to say that if Rochor concentrates on culture and Jalan Besar on technology, then Beach Road will have to focus on the home appliance business.
At this point in time, my mind is filled with images of the crowded Marlborough Theatre in the 1950s and 1960s. Is it possible to turn this street into a theatre street must like Broadway? The empty land and buildings in this area can be redeveloped ti complement the plans for Golden Theatre and United Artists Beach Road cinemas, and together with the Central Police Divisional Headquarters and SAF Warrant Officers and Specialist Club, form a Broadway formation. It will then be possible to complement the feng shui of twin dragons holding up a pearl formation and gain worldwide popularity.
美芝路-双龙拱珠
美芝路(Beach Rd)照英文意译是海滩路。从十九世纪末到二十世纪三十年代，这里十分繁华热闹比起早期的牛车水、丹戎巴葛、山仔顶(珠烈街)、柴船头等地区, 其昌盛有过之而无不及。
整条美芝路, 战前就有大戏院, 如曼舞罗和新娱乐大戏院、大旅店, 如莱佛士大酒店, 还有著名的学府莱佛士学院, 以及好多大小码头。这里曾经是新加坡斗个重要的货物集散中心。
后来, 加冷机场(今人民协会总部所在地)落成。五十年代初, 独立桥竣工通车, 尼浩大道也修筑完工, 美芝路的交通更加发达;而美芝路末端的洞口地带, 一直是重要的小商港, 米商、木柴商、土产出人口商云集此处, 生意兴隆。
商业旺地变寂地
进入八十年代, 薛尔思桥建起来了从东海岸地区到市区, 可以不经过独立桥、美芝路了而美芝路末端又是老屋占多数, 重建的步伐较缓慢, 使美芝路一度显得暮气沉沉。
人们原以为美芝路会一天天消沉下去，谁知到了八十年代中期, 美芝路像沉睡的潜龙, 开始苏醒。这是由于乌节路、珊顿道一带的发展已臻完善，步伐放缓，而美芝路正等待机会重新起飞。它过去的沉寂不过是潜龙勿用罢了。
世事沧桑, 谁敢说自己所料绝对准确?真是青山依旧在, 几度夕阳红!
建筑设计不理想
然而, 从风水上看, 七十年代在美芝路附近所建的几座高楼大厦, 设计均不臻理想, 没有充分利用当地风水地形的优势, 殊为可惜。
整条美芝路在风水学上看来可称双龙拱珠。双龙是指新加坡河与加冷河而珠就是美芝路。因受填海工程的影响, 这珠逐渐往滨海城移去, 使美芝路本身一时难放光芒了。
美芝路的道路设计如困路，尤其在靠近加冷河口的那一端更是如此, 所以那里的生意很难做大。在因字路做生意, 必须有魄力、有胆量, 有灵活的头脑, 做大生意就要打大广告。
过去有人说前和合大厦(现称黄金坊)的风水欠佳, 因其设计如直角三角形, 也有人说那是船形, 陆上行船, 怎么走得动呢?
其实, 这些说法只能供参考, 不能看成是绝对的;风水不是绝对不变的，只要那里的交通情况改善，在那里经商的朋友找对了生意目标和顾客对象，仍是大有可为的。
总之, 美芝路仍在蜕变之中, 相信在九十年代它就能扭转乾坤, 再创奇迹, 毕竟那是个风水的旺区。
美芝路曾经如现在的滨海城那样兴旺, 但是随着滨海城填海计划的实施和薛尔思桥的兴建, 整个风水格局大大改观。虽然它和滨海城只有一路之隔, 却冷清许多, 让人不得不感叹风水造化的神奇。这些年这里有好些新的大厦如新门广场、鸿福中心, 先后在此地兴建起来, 加上原来的黄金广场、黄金大厦、布业中心、金皇商业大厦、邵氏豪华大厦、文雅酒店等等, 但大多表现平平。
现在从黄金地带购物中心旁的花园建成了一座通往丹戎属的吊桥, 而在圣约翰救伤队总部旁又开出了通往尼诰大道的爪哇路。虽然这些改变多少可以打破美芝路的困字, 但还远远不够。要完全释放美芝路的困龙, 应该兴建一座大桥直通丹戎禹，使交通更为流畅这个地区才能全面兴旺起来。
美芝路以前是一个非常热闹的蔬菜、水果、家庭用品和瓷器的批发中心, 如果要恢复以往热闹的景象, 还是应以小批发为主, 或者经营珠宝、家具和家庭用品等。可以这样说, 假如梧槽区以文化为特色, 惹兰勿刹以科技为主, 那么, 美芝路就得以经营家庭用品为主。
走笔至此, 我的脑海浮现五、六十年代曼舞罗戏院车水马龙的热闹景象。为什么这条街不可以发展为类似百老汇式的戏院街呢?该处的许多空地或大厦完全可以重新发展, 配合黄金剧院、UA美芝路电影院的重新规划, 加上现有的中央警署警察局、新加坡武装部队准尉及军士俱乐部等, 构筑一个新加坡式的百老汇应该完全可能做得到。这样一来, 更能配合双龙拱珠的格局, 扬名四海。
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