For those seeking a dose of nostalgia, there is a closed group on Facebook called "On a little street in Singapore", which curates a beautiful selection of photos and videos of Singapore's bygone era contributed by its members.

One particular album posted by member Sharon GJ Ong provides an interesting peek into life in 1960s Singapore. According to her, the photos were taken by her grandfather, TG Ong, for a competition organised by the then Singapore Tourist Promotion Board.

Unfortunately, they were rejected by the judges because they "did not meet with the standards set by them".

Nevertheless, we really like the TG Ong's photos.

Here are some of our favourite shots of past Singapore, juxtaposed against what they look like now.

The Tiger Oil House of Jade

The Tiger Oil House of Jade was opened by the Aw brothers (who started the Tiger Balm business) to showcase their magnificent jade collection to the public. The extensive jade collection supposedly represented every important dynasty in China. Today, the site of the Tiger Oil House of Jade is a condominium.

C.K Tang departmental store

The Tang Plaza building that we know in the present day is not the original building that Tang Choon Keng built when he moved his business to Orchard Road. The original C.K Tang departmental store on Orchard Road was opened in 1958. By 1982, Tang had bought the additional land to build what we know today as Tang Plaza.

Fullerton Building

You might recognise the building in the distance (right side of photos) as our iconic Fullerton Hotel. When the older photo was taken, the Fullerton Building served as Singapore's General Post Office. Today, the Fullerton Building houses the Fullerton Hotel. The buildings in the foreground, unfortunately, have been demolished and replaced by office buildings.

Capitol Building

The movie titles on the billboard in the first photo below gives us a clue about the year that these photos were taken. The movies "Rampage" and "The Pink Panther" were released in 1963, while "The Chalk Garden" was screened in 1964.

Asia Insurance Building

This building was originally known as the Asia Insurance Building. It is amazing how it has withstood the test of time and development for more than 50 years, despite the drastic changes to its surroundings. In the present day, the building has been renamed the Ascott Raffles Place, and currently houses high-rise luxury serviced apartments.

Teochew Building

The Teochew Building was built by the Ngee Ann Kongsi folks. It used to house the Tuan Mong  High School, which provided basic education for Teochew kids. Today, the building hasn't changed much and is currently the headquarters for the Ngee Ann Kongsi clan association.

Diving into nostalgia

The photos do a great job in transporting us back to a bygone era. However, the comments by members on these photos make the viewing experience magical. Many of the members on the page pick out little details which raise a wave of nostalgia in them:

Like these little baskets that women used for shopping. Those samfoos worn by the ladies are still worn by our grandmothers today.

The days where the singlet, shorts, and belt combination was as widespread as wearing Crocs today.

Look closely and you'll spot the mirror shards used to decorate the restaurant's name - a cheap and effective way to make your shop name come alive.

The owner of these photos (Sharon GJ Ong) mentioned in her comments that the photographic slides will be donated to the National Archives as a way of conserving our heritage.

Time travel might not yet be possible, but these photos do bring us a little closer to it.

All photos taken from Facebook (courtesy of Ms Sharon GJ Ong) and Google Maps.

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