A Whole New World: A Heritage Walk Around City Square Mall

This official City Square Mall heritage tour brings visitors through the historic grounds of the former New World Amusement Park. Commissioned by City Square Mall and conducted by Hidden Heritage, the experience reveals how the district evolved from Singapore’s entertainment playground into the family-friendly destination it is today.

Step into the streets around City Square Mall and uncover the forgotten nightlife that once defined this district. Before cinemas and shopping centres, crowds gathered here for music, spectacle and late-night excitement at the legendary New World Amusement Park. This walk retraces the footprint of the former park and reveals how entertainment shaped everyday social life, from working families and sailors to performers and cabaret patrons.

As we search for the original entrance of the amusement park, the modern city slowly gives way to traces of its past. Through conserved shophouses, hidden temples and familiar food streets, you will compare archival photographs against the present surroundings and handle real historical artefacts. By the end of the journey, City Square Mall becomes more than a mall, it becomes the latest chapter in a long story of leisure, gathering and spectacle that has never truly disappeared.

What to Expect on the City Square Mall heritage tour:

Finding the Lost Gate: Track down the exact location of the original New World Amusement Park entrance and understand how the park became an escape from reality for families and the everyday man.

Carnival Nights & Cabaret Lights: Discover the attractions that made the amusement park, from fairground rides, strongman performances, restaurants and the famous cabaret culture that once kept Singapore awake till dawn.

Hidden Remnants of the Past: Walk by conserved shophouses, uncover hidden temples and learn about the history of the roads that surround the park.

Food & Social Life: Learn about the stories behind local eateries in the vicinity and draw parallels to an existing food court in City Square Mall, designed to look like you are stepping back in time.

Then & Now: Handle real artefacts and compare old photographs with present streetscapes as we return to compare how entertainment has not been forgotten, but simply evolved.