Esplanade MRT station


Esplanade MRT station is an underground Mass Rapid Transit station on the Circle line in Downtown Core, Singapore.
Located at the junction of Bras Basah Road, Raffles Boulevard and Nicoll Highway, the station is in close proximity to the JW Marriott Hotel, South Beach Towers, War Memorial Park, Suntec City Mall and the Suntec Singapore Convention and Exhibition Centre. Esplanade station is linked to City Hall MRT station via CityLink Mall or Raffles City.

History

The underpass from One Raffles Link to War Memorial Park was closed on 24 April 2002. On 9 August that year, the section from Bras Basah Road to Nicoll Highway was realigned. The underpass linking CityLink Mall and Suntec City Mall had been closed on 15 January 2003 to facilitate the construction of the station and pedestrians had to use a temporary covered overhead bridge to cross Raffles Boulevard.
On 24 October that year, the Bras Basah Road and Nicoll Highway was realigned to the former NCO Officers Club, and the Beach Road Camp, one of the central army camps in Singapore that was closed in 2000, for the construction of Esplanade MRT station.
It was tentatively named Convention Centre until January 2005. In April 2004, 'Esplanade' and 'Suntec' was chosen for their stations. In the end it was renamed to Esplanade to reflect its heritage with the War Memorial Park, Esplanade Park and The Esplanade.
On 30 April 2008, the underpass was reopened to the public after five years of closure. It's also the first of the Circle line stations where the public can have a glimpse of the interior. The station had almost completed in August 2007. During the opening of the underpass, Suntec City Mall gave away free coffee, chocolates and sweets to pedestrians to mark the reopening of the underpass. There were also music and line dancing performances.
The bridge underwent dismantlement on 12 May 2008.

Art-in-Transit

An artwork by the late Lim Mu Hue, titled A Piece of Ice-Clear Heart, is located on a large wall within the walkway within the station between Raffles City and Marina Square. This black and white artwork features shadow puppetry and other performances enjoyed by the early settlers of Singapore. Consisting of a set of seven pieces of wood block prints depicting various aspects of theatre, the artwork is a collage of early and later works by Lim Mu Hue who died soon after completing this commission.