From the 1950s, Bugis Street was famous among soldiers and sailors for its open-air food stalls and its nightly parade of drag queens and trans women.
In the 1950s and 1960s the original Bugis Street was a notorious night spot, drawing servicemen and sailors to its open-air food stalls and to a nightly cabaret of drag queens and trans women. Its shophouses were demolished in October 1985 for redevelopment and the building of the MRT. A new Bugis Street was recreated in the late 1980s, opposite the original site, between Victoria and Queen Streets.
Today the recreated street is a pedestrianised shopping street on Victoria Street, opposite Bugis Junction and served by Bugis MRT. Kampong Glam is an easy walk away: Masjid Sultan, the textile shops of Arab Street and Haji Lane, reputedly Singapore's narrowest street, now packed with independent boutiques, bars and wall murals.
