Lost Hong Kong

Mapping Hong Kong's Lost Architecture

Introduction

Hong Kong's development has always been dictated by rapid changes to its built environment. Sparingly populated by settlements throughout Chinese history, the development of Hong Kong's built environment was overseen by British colonialists after the concession of Hong Kong Island in 1842 after the First Opium War, Kowloon in 1860 after the Second Opium War and the New Territories in 1898. Although Hong Kong returned to China in 1997, Britain's 150-year ownership of the city led its transformation from a group of small fishing villages inhabited by a few thousand, to a massive city with over seven million inhabitants. The period of British rule after the Second World War (1945-97) saw the rapid verticalization of Hong Kong's built environment, with its now ubiquitous skyscraping buildings taking over the island, at the expense of many what would now be considered historic structures.

Left: Hong Kong, 1967 | Right: Hong Kong, 2021

First British Era (1841-1945)

Hong Kong's notable colonial architecture was dominated by various revival styles that had begin to gain popularity in the United Kingdom and were brought over to the colony. Like in the UK, these grandiose revival styles were often used for notable public buildings or corporations. During the First British Era (1841 to 1945) a number of notable buildings were constructed. Most of these buildings were demolished after World War 2 due to the need for increased density in Hong Kong's Central District. The following map tour will showcase some notable works from this time that have been demolished.

1

Queen's Building

Built in 1899, demolished in 1963. Neoclassical structure built for the colonial government.

2

Hong Kong General Post Office

Built in 1911, demolished in 1976. Demolished to construct the World-Wide House and Central MTR Station.

3

Old Tsim Sha Tsui Terminal

Built in 1910, demolished in 1978. The clocktower of the structure still remains but the site is now the home of the Hong Kong Cultural Centre.

4

Alexandra House

Built in 1904, demolished in 1952. A new Alexandra House was built in its place and is an active shopping mall.

5

Beaconsfield Arcade

Built in 1878, demolished in 1917. This would eventually be the site of the Cheung Kong Center designed by Cesar Pelli, with the Hilton Hong Kong sitting on the site between the two.

6

Old City Hall

Built in 1869, demolished in 1947. This was one of Hong Kong's first multipurpose cultural centers and was demolished for the Bank of China Building.

7

Prince's Building

Built in 1904, demolished in 1958. A new Prince's Building sites on this site and is an active shopping center.

8

The Hong Kong Club

Built in 1897, demolished in 1981. A new Hong Kong Club building now sites on this site.

9

HSBC Building

Built in 1935, demolished in 1978. This was the third iteration of the HSBC Building in Hong Kong and was eventually replaced by the current building designed by Norman Foster.

10

Queen's College

Built in 1889, demolished 1948. This building was demolished for generation commercial structures and is now a minor shopping street.

Locations of Lost Buildings

Many of Hong Kong's notable lost colonial era buildings are located within Central given its importance to the city's political and financial worlds. This is also due to Central being the location of Hong Kong's first urban settlement, then known as Victoria. The map above shows all the lots of lost buildings from the First British Era, and the names of the current buildings. Many demolition dates do not align with the current buildings as lots have seen multiple demolitions and constructions due to Hong Kong's development patterns.

Locations of lost buildings with dates of demolition and current buildings on their lots

Land Reclamation and Lost Buildings

Land reclamation has played a role in the demolition of many of Hong Kong's historic buildings due to their location on or proximity to city's harbor front. Buildings such as those depicted in the following section were demolished due to development requirements in Hong Kong as the city needed to reclaim land for building area. The map below depicts Hong Kong's spread of reclaimed land which line up with the city's populated areas.

Left: Hong Kong's reclaimed land is in grey | Right: Hong Kong's populated areas are represented in pink

The Buildings That Replaced Them

As noted earlier, many of Hong Kong's older buildings were replaced in favor of newer and taller ones and due to land reclamation activities. The following section will showcase the massive changes on the lots of these previously existing buildings.

Old Tsim Sha Tsui Terminal, now Hong Kong Cultural Centre

Queen's Building, now the Mandarin Oriental

General Post Office, now Worldwide House / Central MTR Station

Beaconsfield Court, now the Cheung Kong Center

Old City Hall, now the Bank of China Tower

Conclusion

The massive changes to Hong Kong's urban fabric are made apparent when looking at the buildings that have been lost over the city's development. Much of the city's early colonial era architecture was lost in the postwar period due to the demands of a rapidly growing city that needed to both expand vertically and into the harbor. While Hong Kong is certainly now home to many notable pieces of modern architecture by starchitects such as Norman Foster (HSBC Building), I.M. Pei (Bank of China Tower) and Cesar Pelli (Cheung Kong Center), a key part of the city's architectural history has been lost to make way for it. This story map hoped to illustrate these changes so that those less familiar with Hong Kong's history can understand that it was not always the world's most vertical city.

Bibliography

Google Street View. Various photos. 2024.

Handon, Guy. "Before the bulldozers: a look back at Hong Kong’s long-lost buildings and what replaced them." South China Morning Post. July 21, 2016.  https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/health-environment/article/1987094/bulldozers-look-back-hong-kongs-long-lost 

"HKFP History: A Brief Visual History of the Tsim Sha Tsui Clock Tower." Hong Kong Free Press. March 31, 2020.  https://hongkongfp.com/2016/02/28/hkfp-history-brief-visual-history-tsim-sha-tsui-clock-tower/ 

Lai, Olivia. "Five iconic Hong Kong buildings: Then and now." Time Out Hong Kong. March 16, 2020.  https://www.timeout.com/hong-kong/attractions/five-iconic-hong-kong-buildings-then-and-now 

NASA. "HongKong boundary from space." Wikipedia. November 5, 2006.  https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:HongKong_boundary_from_space.png .

Timothy. "Hong Kong Reclamation Map." Wikipedia. March 1, 2021.  https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Hong_Kong_Reclamation_Map.png 

This StoryMap was created for the requirements of Columbia GSAPP's Digital Heritage Documentation Spring 2024 course taught by Professor Bilge Kose.

Left: Hong Kong, 1967 | Right: Hong Kong, 2021

Left: Hong Kong's reclaimed land is in grey | Right: Hong Kong's populated areas are represented in pink

Old Tsim Sha Tsui Terminal, now Hong Kong Cultural Centre

Queen's Building, now the Mandarin Oriental

General Post Office, now Worldwide House / Central MTR Station

Beaconsfield Court, now the Cheung Kong Center

Old City Hall, now the Bank of China Tower