• Built in 1825, Lau Pa Sat was originally known as Telok Ayer Market. The Mandarin term “巴刹” is the transliteration of the Malay pasar, which refers to a market.
• Lau Pa Sat is Singapore’s first market. Its construction was commissioned in 1822 by order of Sir Stamford Raffles. Its location at Telok Ayer Basin was chosen by William Farquhar, Singapore’s first Resident and Commandant. At that time, Lau Pa Sat was a simple timber building.
• In 1833, the market was rebuilt in brick at the same location, to a design by architect George Coleman, and was noted for its octagonal Victorianstyle roof.
• In 1845, a second market, known as Ellenborough Market, was built along the Singapore River near Coleman Bridge. The local Chinese referred to it colloquially as “新巴刹” (“new market”), and Telok Ayer Market came to be referred to as “老巴刹” (“old market”, colloquially known as lau pa sat).
• Lau Pa Sat was closed again in 1879 to make way for land reclamation. In 1894, it reopened at its present location on the newly reclaimed land behind Collyer Quay. The engineer responsible for rebuilding the market, James MacRitchie, retained the octagonal roof design.
• Lau Pa Sat was originally a wet market. However, in 1972, it was converted into a hawker centre and now only sells cooked food.
• Lau Pa Sat was gazetted as a national monument in 1973.
• In 1986, Lau Pa Sat was dismantled due to the construction of MRT tunnels. It was rebuilt at the original site starting in 1989 and reopened in 1992.

At the mention of Lau Pa Sat, the oldest market in Singapore, the older generation cannot help but think of that stately building with an elegant clock tower at its centre and a facade that resembles the bagua (Eight Trigrams). (Lianhe Zaobao, 26/1/2017)