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Immediately north of St Andrew's Cathedral, across Stamford Road, is Raffles City , a huge development comprising two enormous hotels, a multi-level shopping centre and floor upon floor of offices. Completed in 1985, the complex was designed by Chinese-American architect IM Pei - the man behind the glass pyramid which fronts the Louvre in Paris. The Westin Stamford holds an annual vertical marathon, in which hardy athletes attempt to run up to the top floor in as short a time as possible: the current record stands at under seven minutes. Elevators transport lesser mortals to admire the view from the Compass Rose bar and restaurant on the top floor. On the open land east of Raffles City stands the imposing Civilian War Memorial . Comprising four seventy-metre-high white columns, it's known locally as "the chopsticks". The lofty halls, restaurants, bars and peaceful gardens of the legendary Raffles Hotel are almost a byword for colonialism. The hotel opened for business on December 1, 1887, and quickly began to attract some impressive guests, including Joseph Conrad, Rudyard Kipling, Herman Hesse, Somerset Maugham, Noel Coward and Gunter Grass. It was the first building in Singapore with electric lights and fans, and in 1915, the "Singapore Sling" cocktail was created here by bartender Ngiam Tong Boon. During World War II, the hotel became a Japanese officers' quarters, and then a transit camp for liberated Allied prisoners. Postwar deterioration ended with a S$160-million facelift in 1991, which retains much of its colonial grace, but suffers from a rather tacky attached shopping arcade. Non-guests are welcome to visit the free museum (daily 10am-9pm) located upstairs, at the back of the hotel complex, which is crammed with memorabilia. Otherwise, a Singapore Sling in one of the hotel's several bars will cost you around S$17.
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