The Frankels
The Frankels were Ashkenazi Jews originally from Lithuania. The family patriarch, Abraham Frankel, arrived in Singapore in the late 19th century and became a prominent merchant; the family was involved in the textile and furniture trades and known for its philanthropy. 123
By the 1920s, the Frankels were living on a 200-acre coconut plantation in Siglap bought from a British landowner, and also held other Siglap landholdings including Seaside Park and the land that became Opera Estate. Before that, the area had been mostly coconut and nutmeg plantations. 12
After the war
By the outbreak of World War II, members of the family had either died or left Singapore. After the war, Abraham’s son David sold the family’s properties and settled in the United States. 1 Around 1947, Crédit Foncier d’Extrême-Orient acquired the land for about $1.1 million; it was later divided into Frankel Estate and Opera Estate. 3
Building the estate
The 1950s saw terrace houses, bungalows and shops built in Frankel Estate, along with new roads and a secondary school. 1 When Opera Estate residents finally won a bus service in May 1959, its route ran from Guillemard Road through Opera Estate via Frankel Estate. 3
The family name lives on in Frankel Avenue and its neighbouring streets — and in the estate that still carries it, more than a century after Abraham Frankel bought his first Siglap land.
Sources
- Siglap — Singapore Infopedia, National Library Board
- Siglap, Frankel Estate and Opera Estate (Bedok Heritage Trail) — Roots.gov.sg, National Heritage Board
- Living in Harmony: The History of Opera Estate — BiblioAsia, National Library Board (2022)