These 18 double-storey pre-war terrace houses are one of the most beautiful and well-preserved ones along Petain Road. It is breathtakingly lovely and striking. In 1979, the Petain Road terrace houses faced the threat of demolition but fortunately it was earmarked for preservation in 1981. Petain Road used to be a hotbed of gangsterism and vice up to the early sixties. It is now a quiet and peaceful road facing the serene Somme Playground. Architect E.V. Miller was engaged to design the Petain Road terrace houses for Mohamed bin Haji Omar who had a say on the design of these terrace houses. It was an interesting mix of European and Peranakan styles. Most outstanding is the use of colourful floral glazed ceramic tiles to cover the pilasters on second storey and all the spaces beside the doors and windows on the ground floor. Also noteworthy are the animal and floral motifs of the plaster ornamentation below the windows on second storeys and on the piers on ground floor. The 3D artworks are all different. The corinthian capitals on the party walls and secondary pilasters are very elaborate. Its five-foot way is very popular for photograhy. Some of these units are rented out by Figment. In 1928, the colonial government’s Municipal Committee decided to name eleven roads at Jalan Besar after First World War’s famous commanders and battles. Some of these roads are Kitchener Road, Verdun Road, Sturdee Road, Somme Road, Beatty Road, Marne Road and Flanders Square.

A few minutes walk from behind City Square, you will find Petain Road. It has a controversial history as it was named after Henri-Philippe Pétain, a French General who led France to victory against Germany in World War 1. But later on in his eighties, he also collaborated with Nazi regime and adopted repressive measure against Jews. Hence, people who understands may not feel okay when there is a road named after the French General. Today, this quiet street is home to a row of charming conservation terraced houses. The controversy today is that the back alley is also a designated red light district of Singapore. Hence, the beautiful road though small, has a very rich controversial history.