October 10, 2017, 01:13 AM 
Tampines in the 1980s was barren.
So barren it looked like parts of underdeveloped Punggol today.
Iconic Tampines Round Market & Food Centre
The National Heritage Board previously put up three photos showing the iconic Tampines Round Market & Food Centre in its infancy as part of its throwback series.
According to the NHB, the round market and the surrounding shophouses were completed by the HDB in 1983, one of the earliest parts of the estate to be built.
Since then, it has been a landmark when Tampines was gradually developed as a satellite town from the 1980s.
Toa Payoh residents moved to Tampines
Among the first stallholders there were 72 hawkers from Toa Payoh Lorong 2, where a market was demolished to make way for the Mass Rapid Transit line.
This area quickly became a commercial and social hub for the town in its early decades, with banks, shops of various stripes and other amenities being established around the market
Residents familiar with the area will recall the abject disappointment collectively felt whenever the market was closed or stallholders took a day off.
