The Fullerton Building was named after Robert Fullerton, the first Governor of the Straits Settlements (1826–1829).[3] Commissioned in 1924 as part of the British colony's centennial celebrations, the building was designed as an office building by Major P.H. Keys of Keys & Dowdeswell, a Shanghai firm of architects, which won the project through an architectural design competition.[4][5][6][7][8] The architectural firm also designed the Capitol Theatre, its adjoined Capitol Building and the Singapore General Hospital.[9]