I think that the fares were 20 cents upstairs and 10 cents downstairs. Before the days of the MTR, and apart from taxis, the trams probably provided the quickest way of getting from Shau Kei Wan to Central. The seats were made of slatted wood and the roofs were not always watertight during heavy rain. - but then as now they were a great way of seeing the bustling street life as you trundled along. The only part of the journey where you held your breath was when the trams inched across the bridge over the very smelly Bowrington canal. It's now covered over between Canal Streets East and West and is probably very clean.
Central, Banks from Cricket Ground
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Submitted by Andrew Suddaby
Date picture taken (may be approximate):
Wednesday, January 1, 1958
Gallery:
Connections:
- Central, Banks from Cricket Ground shows Place Old Bank of China Building [1951- ]
- Central, Banks from Cricket Ground shows Place HSBC Headquarters Building (3rd generation) [1935-1984]
- Central, Banks from Cricket Ground shows Place Prince's Building (1st generation) [1904-1962]
- Central, Banks from Cricket Ground shows Place Chartered Bank / Standard Chartered Bank building [1959-1986]
Comments
Re: Photo
The photo shows the old Chartered Bank Buidling being demolished. Interesting to note that the tram islands for passenger boarding/alighting have yet to be constructed. The temporary government buildings in Statue Square adjacent to the Supreme Court as seen here have been removed.
Chartered Bank
I think I can see metal beams at the Chartered Bank site. They look very similar to these in Andrew's later photo, suggesting it is the new building under construction:
Agreed
Agreed. The old building protruded out onto the pavement.