History
Tangs, founded in 1932 by Tang Choon Keng, is one of Singapore's oldest surviving departmental stores. It is also one of the earliest retail occupants in Orchard Road, Singapore's premier shopping district. Its flagship store with its distinctive green-tiled Chinese roof is a familiar landmark to shoppers and tourists.
House of Tang at Orchard Road
House of Tang at Orchard Road
After the war, Tang saw that the time was ripe for expansion. The chance came when the Manasseh family decided to sell their land at No. 2 and 4 Scotts Road. During that time, many Jewish families were returning to the newly formed Israeli state and were disposing their properties at low prices. So in 1958, Tang bought a 1,351 square metres piece of land at a cost of $3.45 per square foot, at 310 Orchard Road which he built the third House of Tang at a cost of $200,000. When Tang first acquired the land, many decried the inauspicious location because the site faced the Tai San Ting cemetery. Orchard Road was also an isolated and quiet neighbourhood then. However Tang recognised the potential of the location. Residents living in Tanglin and Holland Road, and Malaysians from Johor Baru, had to drive pass his store in order to get to the city centre. The new House of Tang had a distinctive architecture. Its green-tiled roof with upturned corners and red columnades were modeled after the Chinese pavilions and palaces which Tang saw during his visit to Beijing.
Renamed to C. K. Tang
In 1960-61, the House of Tang closed briefly due to a disagreement with the Singapore Manual and Mercantile Workers' Union. The dismissal of an employee had triggered a series of events which led to the staging of two strikes. The matter finally came to a close when the House of Tang went into voluntary liquidation. The store reopened the next year as C.K. Tang.
Tangs and Dynasty Hotel
Tangs and Dynasty Hotel
In 1975, Tang decided to pull down the old building and to construct a 33-storey hotel and a shopping complex in its place. The new building retained the store's signature green-tiled Chinese roof. The Dynasty Hotel (later sold to Marriott and renamed to Marriott Hotel in 1995) and the new shopping complex opened in June 1982. The new store, with its name now shortened to Tangs, was well-received by shoppers.
Timeline:
1932: CK Tang founded Tangs
1958: House of Tang was constructed at 310 orchard road
1960-1961: House of Tangs closed briefly and reopened as C.K. Tangs
1975: C.K. Tangs was pulled down and reconstructed as a hotel and shopping complex now commonly known as Dynasty hotel and Tangs respectively.
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