The MacDonald House

I saw this building within a couple of days of arriving in Singapore and knew then that I'd end up blipping it. Why was it built of brick? Why does it have a Scottish name? Why does it use the definite article on it's rooftop signage?

The bricks, I'm aftraid, didn't give much of a story. The architects (according the National Monuments Plaque on the wall) just wanted a neo-Georgian look and employed a brick facade. My bluffer's guide to architecture suggests this is more of a Jacobean thing, but I'll let it pass.

The name is explained by the foundation stone; laid in 1947 by Mrs Malcolm MacDonald. No relation to Newcastle United's Supermac, but wife of the then Governor General.

The definite article instead of being the most prosaic, turned out to be related to a significant and tragic news story. On the 10th of March 1965, MacDonald House (as it should be known) was bombed by Indonesian terrorists during the Konfrantasi. Two employees of the Honk Kong and Shanghai bank were killed. The incident became known as "The MacDonald House Bombing", the definite article should be applied to the bombing, not the building.

A sepia tone seemed in keeping with the final paragraph.