History of Raffles Institution. Founded by Sir Thomas Stamford Raffles in June 1823, this is the oldest school in Singapore. The school was initially known as Singapore Institution, but its name was later changed to honour its founder in 1868. Raffles had secured a grant from the British East India Company, drafted the curriculum and set up the structure for the board of trustees. His goal was to provide education for the sons of the Company's servants and the children of local leaders in the new British colony of Singapore. The school building was finally completed in 1838 (12 years after the death of its founder) under the leadership of Alexander Guthrie, it was located along Bras Basah Road, where Raffles City Shopping Centre now stands. It is still the premier school of Singapore that has produced both the Prime Ministers of Singapore; Mr Lee Kuan Yew and Mr Goh Chok Tong. The school was relocated to Grange Road in 1973, and in 1990 moved to its present location at Bishan.

History of MacDonald House. It is the last remaining office building in facing brick in the central area. Built in 1949. One of the first high-rise buildings (ten-storey building) in Orchard Road, it housed mainly British, American and Australian companies. Before the building was vacated inthe early 2000s, the building housed HSBC on the first few floors. The MacDonald House bombing, two Indonesian saboteurs placed a bomb on the mezzanine floor on 10 March 1965, killing two and wounding 33. This was one of a number of terrorist attacks in Singapore during the Indonesian Confrontation in support of President Sukarno's opposition to the merger of Singapore, Malaya, Sabah and Sarawak to form the Federation of Malaysia. It was also the ocation of the EMI Studios, where the Quests, a popular local pop band, recorded their first album in 1966.

You can download the Civic District Walkabout guide and worksheet here.