| Former Great Southern Hotel
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Singapore, Singapore
October 2006
© James Clark
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Great Southern Hotel was once the place for Chinese high society in the 1930's. Built by tycoon Eu Tong Sen, Great Southern Hotel was considered highly modern when it opened in 1927. The six-story hotel was the first in Singapore to boast a passenger elevator.
Occupying the entire fifth floor, the chic Southern Cabaret was the hotel's greatest assest. Here, the glitterati would live it up. They sipped the finest liquor, smoked opium on handcrafted pipes and danced the night away with taxi girls, who were paid dance partners. For S$1, taxi girls could be hired for three dances. It was not uncommon for a celebrity or two from China or Hong Kong to be seen amongst this well-heeled crowd. The hotel stayed in business well past its heyday and eventually closed down in 1994.
Great Southern Hotel also provided services such as the remittance of money to China, the booking of steamer tickets, luggage transfer and other travel-related services.
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Singapore
