From Wikipedia on Newton and Novena

Newton is relatively sedate compared to the Orchard and Tanglin areas, which are nearby. The district is old and retains the slow, sleepy pace of decades ago. It is spacious and liberally sprinkled with greenery, resembling a residential estate more than a downtown core. Yet Newton is still an expensive place to live in, since it is sandwiched between the hip Orchard Road and the posh Bukit Timah. There are some hotels here and a lot of private property, with schools and shops to facilitate accommodation.

Newton is named after Howard Newton, a British engineer during the colonial period. During the early 1800s, the area was mainly a nutmeg plantation. What was not plantation ground, however, was a cemetery for the Jewish and Christians.

Newton Circus, which is the centre of Newton today, used to be a train station on Singapore 's first railway line. Today, the circus is a road that links Orchard to Little India, Bukit Timah and the Pan Island Expressway (PIE). Accidents occur frequently on this busy road because of the congestion and lack of visibility.

There is not much to see or do in Newton, except for Newton Food Centre. This is a large, newly-renovated place serving some of the best hawker food in Singapore. It is known for its sambal stingray and sup tulang, and is where many clubbers head to for supper after a tiring night of partying.

Other than Newton Food Centre, the estate comprises private property. Most of the property in Newton are terraces or semi-detached houses, but there are some apartments here too. Cairnhill Community Centre facilitates residents of Newton. Also, a large portion of Newton is taken up by Bukit Timah Waterworks, a water treatment plant.

Novena and its roads (Jalan Novena Barat and Novena Terrace), buildings (Novena Ville and Novena Gardens), as well as the MRT station in this area are named after the Novena Church, or Church of St Alphonsus at Thomson Road.

The current premises of the Novena Church were owned by a wealthy Chinese businessman,Wee Kah Kiat. The premises were bought over by the Redemptorist community in 1948 and a small church was built by May 1950. The Saturday novenas began in January 1949 and were heavily publicised in 1951. The novenas are a mission given by Pope Pius IX to the Redemptorist fathers to make Our Lady of Perpetual Succour well-known throughout the world.

Housing in Novena tends to be more expensive than other estates because of its prime location and facilities. Novena has no HDB flats, but is made up of condominiums and private housing. There are many condominiums in Novena such as Birmingham Mansions, Thomson Euro-Asia and Lion Towers. These condominiums generally surround the sole school in the area, Saint Joseph's Institution Junior , formerly known as St Michael's School