On 20 February 1992, Senior Parliamentary Secretary for National Development, Lee Yiok Seng, unveiled plans to turn the area in front of the Istana to a landscaped park to mark the entrance to the Civic District.

The Istana Park was completed in late 1995 and officially opened on 6 September 1996 by National Development Minister Lim Hng Kiang.

[2] On 7 October 2017, the Istana Heritage Gallery, located inside the park, was opened by President Tony Tan.

[3] The centerpiece of the park is the 26-metre-high stainless stell and concrete Festival Arch in a reflecting pool.

[5] Istana Park was served as the place for a U-Turn in the 9th Leg of the sixteenth season of The Amazing Race.