Mount Sophia is the name given to the street and little hill at Mount Sophia road. Mount Sophia was originally named Bukit Seligi or Seligi Hill which can be evidenced in Lt. Philip Jacksons sketch map on 5 June 1823. In late 1823, Captain William Flint occupied the hill with his family after he married Raffles’ favorite sister. Then the hill was named Flint’s Hill. Flint was appointed by Raffles as Singapore's first Master Attendant.

Later on Flint’s Hill was renamed Mount Sophia by captain Flint to honor Raffles Second Wife Sophia and also Flint’s second daughter also called Sophia. Some called it Sophia Hill. Sophia means "wisdom" in Greek.

Interestingly in Cantonese Mount Sophia is called yi-wong shan-keuk yau chuk-tsai keuk hui which literally translated means "foot of Governor's hill going up from Tek Kha (Selegie Road neighborhood). In hokkien it is called ji-ong sua kha ti tek-kha khior.

Mount Sophia is one of the earliest middle class residential estates. Famous businessmen Eu Tong Sen, August Behn, V. Lorenz Meyer and F.A. Schreibe also resided here. In 1930s, Sophia flats were built at the entrance of Mount Sophia.

Two prestigious missionaries’ girls’ school namely Methodist Girl's School (MGS) and St. Margaret's were start up here too. The Methodist Girls’ School later relocated and in its place was once occupied by the Singapore Hotel Association Training & Educational Centre (SHATEC) and St. Francis Methodist School. SHATEC later on moved to Bukit Batok while St. Francis Methodist School went to Upper Bukit Timah.Trinity College and the Nanyang Academy (of Fine Arts or NAFA) were at Mount Sophia in 1983. The College later moved to Upper Bukit Timah while NAFA shifted to Bencoolen Street.

Selegie Road lies at the foot of Mount Sophia. Over here, the first skyscraper to occupy Mount Sophia estate is Cathay Building and cinema which opened in 1939 by Dato Loke Wan Tho and it ended its business in 2000. Now in its place lies The Cathay.

Citadines Serviced Apartment

Transportation: are made easy via Dhoby Ghuat, Little India and Bras Basah MRT stations and the numerous bus services available here. Major expressway like Central Expressway (CTE) will allow vehicle owners easy access to many parts of Singapore. Driving to Orchard shopping district or central business district will take you about 5 and 15 minutes respectively.

Recreational facilities in the neighborhood include Singapore Cricket Club, The Pines Club, Fort Canning Park, Mount Emily Park and The Istana.

Hotels around here include Carlton Hotel Singapore, Holiday Inn Singapore Orchard Centre, Hotel Bencoolen, Rendezvous Hotel Singapore, The City Bay View Singapore Hotel and Innotel Hotel.

Mount Sophia Tower House

Shopping Malls nearby include Plaza Singapura, Park Mall, Parklane Shopping Mall, Paradiz Orchard Plaza and Orchard Point to cater for all your needs. In Orchard Shopping District there are retail shops, supermarkets, salons, cinemas and many more to cater for all your needs. For more shopping, dining and entertainment purposes you can drive down to Downtown Core which is 10-15 minutes away.

The nearest supermarkets are Cold Storage at Paradiz Centre, Carrefour Supermarket at Plaza Singapura and Sheng Siong Supermarket at The Verge.

Restaurants: Foodies can head towards the famous eateries and restaurants along Selegie Road, Penang Road and over at Orchard Road.

8 @ Mount Sophia

Education: The primary educational institutions around include Stamford Primary School, St Margaret’s Primary School, River Valley Primary School and Farrer Park Primary School. The Secondary Schools in the neighborhood include Outram Secondary School and St Joseph’s Institution. Tertiary Educational School is Singapore Management University.

Healthcare: For medical consult, you can head to nearby General Practitioner Clinics, Mt Elizabeth Medical Centre, KK Women's & Children's Hospital, Raffles Hospital and Tan Tock Seng Hospital in the area that provide specialist healthcare services for the residents.

Places of worship: These include Kwan Im Thong Hood Cho Temple at 178 Waterloo Street, Sri Krishnan Templeat 152 Waterloo Street, Church Of Christ Of Malaya at 54 Sophia Road and Masjid Abdul Gafoor Mosque at 41 Dunlop Street.

LIV on Sophia

Conclusion

Mount Sophia was previously home to Singapore’s first Master Attendant, Captain William Flint, as well as many other successful businessmen. Now, Mount Sophia is a prime district in the centre of Singapore’s number one Orchard Shopping District. Mount Sophia is filled with commercial buildings and prestigious residential buildings which are highly sought after by locals and expats.

OLd St. Margaret's School

Did You Know?

1. At one corner of Cuppage road lies Sian Teck Tng which is one of the few remaining Buddhist convents. It was built over a century ago by a businessman. This two storey temple worships “Guan Yin" and houses the widows, single older women and unwanted female children.

2. Orchard Road Car Park Hawker Centre existed between 1966-1978 was also known as Glutton's Square was one of the most popular makan places in Singapore. The Hawkers will push their stalls to the car park after 5 pm when the car park closed and will be opened till almost 5 am the following day. In 1978, due to overcrowding and hygiene issues hawkers were relocated to Cuppage Hawker Centers and Newton Circus.

3. In the 1840s, Graveyards were located along Orchard Road. Chinese Graveyards were located near the Orchard Mrt station stretch of road. Sumatrans from Bencoolen also were buried around the area. Previously the Jewish cemetery was located near Dhoby Ghuat Mrt station but was demolished in 1984.

4. Istana was previously used to screen movies for free to the public on weekly basis back in the early 1950s to 1960s. It also provided parking lots for Muslims who goes to the nearby mosques.