Draft:Balestier Market

Balestier Market is a food centre and former wet market on Balestier Road in Balestier, Singapore. Established as a platform in 1922, a roof was built over the market in 1925. The market building is believed to be the "only surviving rural market building in Singapore".

History
The market was completed as a platform made of concrete in 1922, such that vendors would have a location to sell their goods, thus preventing them from blocking the roads. In July 1924, three pork sellers at the market were arrested for using false scales. In 1925, a roof over the market was built. The market was surrounded by an iron gate, resulting in the nickname "Tee Pa Sat", which means "Iron Market" in Hokkien. Another popular nickname for the market in the Hokkien dialect was "Or Kio Pa Sat", which translates to "Black Bridge Market". It refernced a black wooden bridge that crossed the nearby Sungei Whampoa. During the Japanese Occupation of Singapore, which lasted from 1942 to 1945, it was used as a centre for the provision of food rations.

The market was a "busy place" in the mid-20th century. There were around 20 stalls within the market building, which comprised a row of small huts with a pitched roof, while hawkers selling food could be found outside. This involved increasing the number of stalls within the market. A rectangular-shaped public toilet, which was located next to the market, became a popular "cruising" toilet for local homosexual men. However, it was demolished in the 1990s. The market underwent renovations in 1999 and was gazetted for conservation by the Urban Redevelopment Authority in 2003. In 2004, the market closed for renovations, with many of its now-elderly vendors choosing to retire before the market reopened, as the nearby Whampoa Makan Place had already eclipsed it in popularity. It later became a food court. By December 2010, Project Dignity had opened three stalls within the centre while another was set to open in the near future.

It is listed as a site on the Balestier Heritage Trail, which was established by the National Heritage Board in 2014.