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Opened in 1854, Whampoa’s Ice House was Singapore’s first ice house that sold imported ice packed in sawdust from the frozen winter lakes of New England, the United States of America at a time when refrigeration did not exist.
Hoo Ah Kay, (1815-1880) better known as Whampoa (after his hometown in Canton, China), was a prominent businessman and public figure in Singapore. Fluent in English, Whampoa was the first Asian to be appointed to the Legislative Council in 1869. He was decorated by Queen Victoria of England in 1876 and appointed Consul in Singapore for Russia, Japan and China.
Due to an overestimation of the demand for ice, the business venture between Whampoa and Gilbert Angus failed to take off and the building was later sold to a bank. Tan Kah Kee’s rubber company, Kiam Aik, occupied the building in 1904. In 1981, the Ice House was demolished for the widening of River Valley Road
and a replica was constructed near its original location.