SINGAPORE - Former Tanjong Pagar Railway Station will open its doors to the public for Vesak Day on Saturday (May 21) from 9am to 6pm.

Members of the public are encouraged to visit the national monument and to use the opportunity to snap photographs of the iconic site, said the Singapore Land Authority (SLA) in a press release on Wednesday.

Visitors can also submit their entries for the SLA "Celebrating Places and Memories" Photo Contest, which is on until June 12.

The SLA Photo Contest is organised to celebrate SLA's 15th anniversary and to foster an appreciation of Singapore's State buildings.

Photo enthusiasts can check out other unique State buildings that are rich in heritage at the SLA's website at www.sla.gov.sg/slaplacesandmemories/.

As always, members of the public are free to sketch their impressions of the monument.

They can deposit their drawings - indicating their names and contact numbers at the back - at the former ticketing counter of the station.

Selected drawings may be displayed at the platforms at the next open house.

Visitors can also catch an exhibition titled Women: New Portraits, featuring newly commissioned photographs by renowned photographer Annie Leibovitz.

The ongoing exhibition at the station's Main Hall ends on Sunday. Admission is free.

Tanjong Pagar Railway Station was officially opened in May 1932 and served as the key operational railway station in Singapore until operations ceased on July 1, 2011. It was gazetted as a national monument that year.

The SLA now opens the station on public holidays for visitors to enjoy the historic property.