Early years The first US diplomatic mission in Singapore was established in 1833 with the assignment of
Joseph Balestier as consul. Although Singapore was an important free trade port, there was some question over whether Americans were legally allowed to conduct business there by the British, and so he was officially assigned to "Rhio (
Riau, then a part of the
Dutch East Indies) and such other places as are nearer thereto than to the Residence of any other Consul or Vice Consul of the United States" while residing in Singapore and mostly conducting business related to the territory. It was only in 1836 that an official consulate was established in Singapore with Balestier as consul. The post was promoted to a consulate-general in 1893.
20th century The mission acquired the Spring Grove house in 1930 to house diplomats and opened a
United States Information Service library on 26 Raffles Place in 1950 that the embassy claims "was so popular that bus services to downtown Singapore had to be extended through the evenings". A new consulate building, the first to be built instead of acquired for this purpose, was opened on 30 Hill Road in 1961. Although the United States first proposed that the post be raised to embassy status in late 1965, the Singaporean government took a while to warm up to the idea as it gradually shifted to improve relations with the US while maintaining a non-aligned stance overall, and the promotion was finally agreed to and executed in April 1966.
Current location During the 1990s, it was decided that the embassy is to moved to a new site at the Tanglin district for improved security and capacity measures, with several embassy properties being sold in 1989 to fund the nearly US$100 million cost of the new compound. In 1994, ground was broken and the construction of the new complex officially began. Designed by
The Stubbins Associates, it was completed in 1997 after around two years. ==Role in Singapore–United States relations==