Old Hong Kong Street Signs
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Submitted by scottp on Fri, 2017-10-20 12:52
There's a few generations of street signs around Hong Kong. Not sure exactly what period they are from but I like the ones with an English name on top and Chinese name underneath on a custom cut-out iron plate. Here's the ones I've seen: https://hiddenhk.com/old-hk-street-signs - I'm sure there's more around, anyone know of others?
Thanks, Scott
Forum:
Here are a few of the old
Here are a few of the old style signs:
https://gwulo.com/taxonomy/term/10331/photos-gallery
I've been told there's a few more too
Thanks David! - I've been told there's a few more too, here's the latest tally:
Old street signs
Hi scottp, here are some more: https://www.flickr.com/photos/26360671@N08/sets/72157626928499282/ . This is a page (in Chinese) explaining different types of signs: http://hk-place.com/view.php?id=316
Many more
Many thanks C, many more, looks like I will be busy checking them out.
Cheers
Scott
About the Period of Production
There is an article in Apple Daily about the street signs (in Chinese, of course) and the period of production:
http://hk.apple.nextmedia.com/supplement/culture/art/20140210/18620082
Fascinating
Many thanks Cheaplad
Cape Collinson Road
Hi scottp
Do you know the location of the street sign of Cape Collinson Road?
I found that somebody was selling the sign on the internet about 4 months ago:
https://www.gumtree.com/p/antiques/original-antique-cast-iron-hong-kong-street-name-plate/1258216201
I'm worried that the sign has already been removed from the street.
re: Cape Collinson Road
I've found out that the Cape Collinson Road street sign is not there anymore but it is in the safe hands of an enthusiast in Hong Kong who bought it. It weighs 30kg!
Here's my current list of possible locations - I have visited 38 of them now: https://hiddenhk.com/old-hk-street-signs
Cast Iron Street Signs
Apliu Street
Blue Pool Road
Blue Pool Road
Boundary Street
Broom Road
Burrows Street
Cape Collinson Road
Caroline Hill Road
Castle Peak Road
Cheung Wa Street
Ching Lin Terrace
Chung Hing Street
Connaught Road Central
Cotton Path
Cross Street
Dao Yang Road
Dumbarton Road
Fat Tsueng Street
Fife Street
Fu Shin Street
Fuk Hing Lane
Fuk Wa Street
Fuk Wah Street
Fuk Wing Street
Hai Tan Street
Hai Wing Road
Hak Po Street
Haven Street
Hawthorn Road
Healthy Street East
Hing Hon Road
Hip Wo Lane
Holly Road
Hollywood Road
Hong Kong University
Hung Fook Street
Hung Kwong Street
Johnston Road
Junction Road
Kam Hong Street
Kat Hing Street
Ki Lung Street
Kim Shin Lane
King Sing Street
Kiu Kiang Street
Kiu Yam Street
Kowloon City Road
Kwong Fuk Road
Lai Chi Kok Road
Lan Fong Road
Lee Garden Road
Leighton Road
Lin Ma Hang Road
Luen Wo Road
Lung To Street
Maidstone Lane
Ma Tau Kok Road
Min Fat Street
Mok Cheong Street
Mui Hing Street
Nan Chang Street
Nelson Street
Nga Tsin Long Road
Pak Sha Road
Pei Ho Street
Po On Road
Pok Man Street
Queen's Road West
Sai On Lane
Shan Kwong Road
Shanghai Street
Shing Wong Street
Sing Woo Road
School Road
Sun Chun Street
Sun Wui Road
Tai Hang Road
Tai Sun Street
Tai Wo Street
Temple Street
Triangle Street
Tsiu Keng
Tsun Yung Street
Tung Chau Street
Tung Lo Wan Road
Wai On Street
Wan Fat Street
Wan Nok Street
Wan On Street
Wing Kwong Street
Wing Lung Street
Wing Yiu Street
Woo Sung Street
Wood Road
Wyndham Street
Yee Kuk Street
Yen Chow Street
Yiu Wa Street
older Ceramic Street Signs
Jordan Road
Lower Albert Road
On Tai Street
Rock Hill Street
Stone Nullah Lane
Wa Ning Lane
West End Path
Wyndham Street
Kiu Yam St
Re: Kiu Yam St
Hi Phil, I haven't had a chance to look around Sham Shui Po and Cheung Sha Wan yet, there are a lot around there but I share your concerns, a fair few may already have gone after development.
re: current list of possible locations
I can help update the current status of some signs:
Cast Iron Street Signs
Apliu Street X2
Blue Pool Road
Blue Pool Road
*Boundary Street
Broom Road
^Burrows Street
*Cape Collinson Road
*Caroline Hill Road
Castle Peak Road
Cheung Wa Street
Ching Lin Terrace
Chung Hing Street
Connaught Road Central
Cotton Path
Cross Street
Dao Yang Road X2
Dumbarton Road
Fat Tsueng Street
Fife Street
Fu Shin Street
*Fuk Hing Lane
Fuk Wa Street
Fuk Wah Street
Fuk Wing Street
*Hai Tan Street
Hai Wing Road
Hak Po Street
Haven Street
Hawthorn Road
Healthy Street East
*Hing Hon Road
Hip Wo Lane
Holly Road X2
Hollywood Road
Hong Kong University
Hung Fook Street
Hung Kwong Street
^Johnston Road
Junction Road
Kam Hong Street
Kat Hing Street
Ki Lung Street
Kim Shin Lane
King Sing Street
Kiu Kiang Street
*Kiu Yam Street
Kowloon City Road
Kwong Fuk Road
Lai Chi Kok Road
Lan Fong Road
Lee Garden Road
*Leighton Road
Lin Ma Hang Road
Luen Wo Road
Lung To Street
Maidstone Lane
Ma Tau Kok Road
Min Fat Street
Mok Cheong Street
Mui Hing Street
*Nan Chang Street
Nelson Street
Nga Tsin Long Road
Pak Sha Road
Pei Ho Street X4
Po On Road
Pok Man Street
Queen's Road West
Sai On Lane
Shan Kwong Road X2
*Shanghai Street
Shing Wong Street X2
Sing Woo Road
School Road
Sun Chun Street
Sun Wui Road
Tai Hang Road
Tai Sun Street
Tai Wo Street
Temple Street
Triangle Street
Tsiu Keng
Tsun Yung Street << should be Tsun Yuen Street?
*Tung Chau Street
*Tung Lo Wan Road
Wai On Street
Wan Fat Street
Wan Nok Street
Wan On Street
Wing Kwong Street
Wing Lung Street
Wing Yiu Street
Woo Sung Street
Wood Road
Wyndham Street
Yee Kuk Street X2
Yen Chow Street
Yiu Wa Street
older Ceramic Street Signs
*Jordan Road
#Lower Albert Road X2
On Tai Street
Rock Hill Street
$Stone Nullah Lane
Wa Ning Lane
West End Path
#Wyndham Street
* - Possibly removed due to renovation/demolition
^ - Will soon be removed due to redevelopment
# - Ceramic frame with tiles
$ - Steel frame with tiles
re: current list of possible locations
Many thanks 9A2W3716, that's really useful. Agreed on Burrows Street and Johnston Road in Wan Chai, that building was almost coming down when I walked past there. Yes, should be Tsun Yuen Street in Happy Valley - it is currently covered in scaffolding but I confirmed or discounted all the rest of the Happy Valley ones.
I walked the length of Temple Street yesterday while I was in the area and couldn't see any still there. I'll try and get round the areas with big concentrations of them over the Christmas period.
Wood Road in Wan Chai has four different generations of street sign!
Thanks all, Scott
Update
updated 28 August 2018 :
- one more Hollywood Road sign has appeared at the renovated Central Police Station.
- one more has emerged at Percival Street in Causeway Bay, previously behind an advertising hoarding.
- Tsun Yuen Street in Happy Valley has not survived building renovation, it's now gone after the scaffolding has come down.
I've done quite a lot of work on this and managed to visit 102 of them. I reckon there are a further four more cast iron road signs to check out; all in the closed border area at Sha Tau Kok - can someone help get me in?!
Here's what I have verified:
Iron frame with ceramic tiles for each English letter and Chinese character - Late 19th century to early 20th century
Stone Nullah Lane
Cement frame with ceramic tiles for each English letter and Chinese character - Late 19th century to early 20th century
Lower Albert Road x2
Wyndham Street
Cement - 1910 to 1930
On Tai Street
Wa Ning Lane
West End Path
Cast Iron - 1930s to 1960s
Central
Hollywood Road x2
Wyndham Street
Sheung Wan
Connaught Road Central
Shing Wong Street x2
Kennedy Town
Ching Lin Terrace
Queen's Road West
Sai Ying Pun
Sai On Lane
The Peak
Lloyd Path
Wan Chai
Burrows Street
Cross Street
Johnston Road
King Sing Street
Tai Wo Street
Triangle Street
Wood Road
Happy Valley
Blue Pool Road x2
Broom Road
Green Lane
Hawthorn Road
Hip Wo Lane
Holly Road x2
Min Fat Street
Mui Hing Street
Shan Kwong Road x2
Sing Woo Road
Causeway Bay
Cotton Path
Haven Street
Lan Fong Road
Lee Garden Road
Pak Sha Road
Percival Street
Sun Wui Road
Tai Hang Road
Yiu Wa Street
Tai Hang
Sun Chun Street
North Point
Healthy Street East
Kam Hong Street
Chai Wan
Cape Collinson Road (in a private collection)
Sham Shui Po
Apliu Street x2 (one is in a shop)
Fuk Wa Street
Ki Lung Street
Kiu Kiang Street
Lai Chi Kok Road
Pei Ho Street x4
Yee Kuk Street x2
Yen Chow Street
Cheung Sha Wan
Castle Peak Road
Cheung Wah Street
Fat Tsueng Street
Fuk Wah Street
Fuk Wing Street
Kim Shin Lane
Po On Road
Tonkin Street
Wing Lung Street
Tai Kok Tsui
Wai On Street
Mong Kok
Fife Street
Hak Po Street
Nelson Street
Jordan
Woo Sung Street
To Kwa Wan
Hung Fook Street
Hung Kwong Street x2
Kowloon City Road
Lung To Street
Ma Tau Kok Road
Maidstone Lane
Mok Cheong Street
Wan Fat Street
Wan Lok Street
Wan On Street
Wing Kwong Street
Wing Yiu Street
Kowloon City
Dumbarton Road
Junction Road
Nga Tsin Long Road
Tai Po
Fu Shin Street
Kwong Fuk Road
Fanling
Luen Wo Road
Dao Yang Road
Hai Wing Road x2
Cheung Chau
School Road
Tai Sun Street
Lantau
Kat Hing Street
and here is what I have left to check:
Sha Tau Kok, closed border area
Car Park Street
Lin Ma Hang Road
San Lau Road x2
Kiu Yam St
I contacted the URA regarding the missing Kiu Yam St sign and got this reponse:
So it looks as though they all fall under the responsibility of the Highways Dept.
re: Kiu Yam St
Thanks Phil, good to know that. Let's hope the Kiu Yam Street one gets remounted when the development there is completed - at least they know where it is and it hasn't been thrown away.
I've completed checking out many more over the last few days, now only 5 left to check plus the 4 that are in the closed border area at Sha Tau Kok.
2010 Lee Tung Street
2009 Exhibition at Murray House, Stanley
Those signs in the exhibition
Those signs in the exhibition are fake designs. Their Chinese street names are from left to right.
Actual designs are from right to left before 1960 (e.g. The Chinese name for Duddell Street should be 街利爹都)
Thanks
Thanks for the feedback.
1940 Gascoigne Road Street Sign
Re: 1940 Gascoigne Road Street Sign
Cast iron sign supported by steel angle bar was common before 1960s for streets, roads & villages with enough spaces eg wide road junctions, Kowloon Tong area, villages in the New Territories
Now only few can be found in the villages & roads in the New Territories.
1937 P.W.D. Report
I note from the 1937 P.W.D. Report that there was a city-wide programme of fixing/erecting street name plates on Hong Kong Island, Kowloon and New Kowloon. I guess these were of the cast iron type.
Can I add these to your list
Can I add these to your list for the Tai Hang district.
Warren Street sign no. 2
This sign is a slightly different design from its predecessor.