Change Alley is an air-conditioned shopping arcade in the financial district of Raffles Place in Downtown Core planning area of Singapore.

1819: Owing to the poor geographical location of the beach front stretching from Esplanade to Rochor River as the prior trading site, Raffles shifted the commercial centre to the South Bank of Singapore (today's South Boat Quay), nearer to the mouth of the Singapore River, where waters were less shallow and more accessible.

A small hill at the end of Tanjong Singapura (today's Raffles Place) was levelled to use the soil to fill up the SouthWest bank of Singapore River.

[1] There was the presence of money changers, a thriving market where Chinese dealers traded in gambier, pepper, copra, tin and other types of produce alongside compradors serving the European merchants.

[1] It began to include clothes, briefcases, watches, toys, fishing accessories, handicrafts, souvenirs, tailoring, and shoe polish and cobbler services.

[1] Infrastructure-wise, Change Alley was made up of small shops and makeshift tables, roving salesmen with their wooden boxes containing wares such as pens and watches.

Improvised awning for the alley was created using zinc, plastic or canvas sheets that sometimes failed to prevent leaks on rainy days.

[1] 1980s: Change Alley saw a dwindling of customers due to a few reasons: Decline in sea travel, competition with modern air-conditioned shopping centers, and withdrawal of foreign troops from Singapore.