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ST JOSEPH'S CHURCH, VICTORIA STREET (AWARD FOR CONSERVATION)
The Straits Times
|November 16, 2024
PEELING BACK LAYERS OF HISTORY
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What started out as a project addressing structurally unsound roof trusses, repairing a choir loft and removing crusted facade paint in 2017 burgeoned into a $25 million, five-year conservation of the 112-year-old St Joseph's Church in Victoria Street.
When workers removing paint from the facade uncovered ornamental plasterwork dating to the early 1900s, the plan changed from mere renovation to conservation to return the church to its former glory.
The church was originally built by the Portuguese Mission in 1853 to serve Portuguese and Eurasian Catholics residing in Singapore.
When the congregation grew, it was demolished.
On the same site, the presentday St Joseph's Church was built in 1912. In 2005, the church was gazetted a National Monument by the National Heritage Board.
This story is from the November 16, 2024 edition of The Straits Times.
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