1960s Hong Kong

so does this mean that the Pen was once joined to the Marco Polo Hotel by that walkway?

Yes, there was such a walkway. The site of the Marco Polo Hotel Building was previously called the Peninsula Court and Kowloon Hotel.

Hi there,

I remember the walkway was still there until they demolished the old building and erected the modern day Kowloon Hotel.  That would be sometime in the late 1970's or early 1980's, I think.

Best Regards,

Thomas

In 1955 work commenced on the Peninsula Court. It operated as an annexe to the Peninsula Hotel. In 1969 a bridge linked the two hotels. I am not sure when the Marco Polo Hotel Group became involved with the Peninsula Court.

According to the "Heritage Project" website the Peninsula Court was demolished in 1982. Makes no mention of Marco Polo though.

Hi philk,
Marco Polo was the name of a restaurant in the Peninsula Court.

Post 185 on this page (in Chinese) says:
http://www.uwants.com/viewthread.php?tid=7206167&extra=&authorid=3386404&page=13

Before 1982, there was no Marco Polo Hotel in Hong Kong.

1955 - Peninsula Court is built.  It is the new wing of Peninsula Hotel.
1957 - Marco Polo Restaurant opens in the basement of the Peninsula Hotel.
1958 - Marco Polo Restaurant moves to Peninsula Court.
1968 - Marco Polo Restaurant closes.  The sign on the wall of Peninsula Court is removed.
1968 - Buffet lunch in the Verandah Restaurant in the Peninsula Hotel is named "Marco Polo Buffet" until the late 1970s.
1969 - Peninsula Court is developed into 10 suites and 107 rooms. A bridge is built to connect the building to Peninsula Hotel.
1972 - Marco Polo Private Limited (under Hongkong and Shanghai Hotels Limited) buys and starts management of a hotel in Singapore, which is renamed "Marco Polo Hotel".
1982 - Marco Polo Hotel (under Hongkong and Shanghai Hotels Limited) in Harbour City opens.

The Peninsula Hotel has been using "Marco Polo Suite" as the name of its suites.

In the 1970s, Cathay Pacific, which has business connections with the Hongkong and Shanghai Hotels Limited, names its airport lounges "Marco Polo Lounge". The name is later used in the frequent flyer membership scheme.

Who can predict that the name of a restaurant in the 1950s would become a brand name?

The building on the right hand side is Imperial Hotel (http://gwulo.com/node/14862).

Rechecked the opening date of the Peninsula Court. The 12-storey building was opened on 7 August 1957. The China Mail of the same day refers.