Church Street was not named after a religious building. Rather, it was named after a person, one Thomas Church who was a town councillor from 1837 to 1856. The street itself is older than its namesake, having been around on the 1836 George Coleman's Map of Singapore. On Coleman's map are two streets named Church Street. The other is now called Waterloo Street. It was then called Church Street after the Roman Catholic Church of St Peter and St Paul.
The Yueh Hai Ching Temple, one of the oldest temples in Singapore, is located on Church Street, surrounded by skyscrapers.