5 gems on the refreshed Toa Payoh Heritage Trail and the stories behind them

This beautiful hidden gem will charm you with its landscaped pond, willowy trees, breezy gazebos and distinctive white bridges studded with hexagonal motifs. Once known as Toa Payoh Town Garden, it's one of Singapore's first residential green spaces – and can rightfully be called a blueprint for the green spaces we see in our public housing towns nowadays. A key feature of Toa Payoh Town Park is the 25-metre-tall lookout tower. You used to be able to climb to the top for panoramic views of Toa Payoh, but its since been closed and accorded conservation status. 

In 1973, athletes and officials from seven different countries descended on Toa Payoh Central, the host village for the 1973 Southeast Asian Peninsular (SEAP) Games. The location of the games village meant that international athletes could get a taste of what local life was all about. And in a practical Singaporean twist – the four HDB point blocks that were built to house the athletes were eventually sold to the public fully furnished once the games were over. 

Toa Payoh is home to a variety of cultural and religious institutions to serve the diverse communities that reside there. One of the most outstanding is Masjid Muhajirin, the first mosque to have been built in the town. Rebuilt as part of the Singapore Islamic Hub, it reopened in 2009 with tall arched doorways and beautiful floral and geometric motifs on its exterior. Originally constructed using the Mosque Building Fund, it stands today as a symbol of the tight-knit Malay community. 

Block 53 is an unassuming public housing block in Toa Payoh. Little would you know that it was once visited by dignitaries like Britain's Queen Elizabeth II and our second President Benjamin Sheares. Hence known as the VIP block, it used to have a viewing gallery on the roof where visiting VIPs could look out over a vista of Toa Payoh town. Today, you can head up to the top floor and look down at the remaining circular driveway (now a garden) that used to receive the motorcades of dignitaries. Just remember to be mindful of the residents of this living piece of heritage. 

Toa Payoh's dragon playground is simply iconic. The one that we see now has a predecessor – one that used to reside in Toa Payoh Town Garden (now known as Toa Payoh Town Park). A similar fiery orange, it inspired multiple versions of the dragon head at different playgrounds across the island. You can thank HDB architect Mr Khor Ean Ghee for the striking and playful design.