European Houses on Hankow Road (1920/30's) [c.1929-c.1962]
Primary tabs
From 1920 to 1930, many European houses were built in Tsim Sha Tsui. The houses on Hankow Road shown here probably are already second generation. The lots where they were built on are shown below:
European Houses on Hankow Road, by Klaus
The three blocks/houses on Hankow Road that are marked in red are
bottom: K.I.L. 406, 407, 619 (today No.s 12A (Peking Road), 14 to 36 Hankow Road)
centre: K.I.L. 400 (today 38 to 44 Hankow Road)
top: K.I.L. 3,5 (today 45,45 Haiphong Road).
Update 2020-03-21: the lots K.I.L. 3 and 5 do not belong to these European Houses, they are Haiphong Road Houses.
Additionally, the houses on K.I.L. 400 probably do not belong to the project mentioned in the comment below; they look a bit different and could have been built a few years later.
They can be viewed here on the photo from 1935:
1930s Star Theatre, by eternal1966e
The buildings are European style with shops/restaurants at street level. Exact construction dates are unknown. However, the 1929 Public Works Department Annual Report says:
Works completed:—10 European houses (10 shops and 30 flats,) on K.I.L. 407, Nathan Road.
The lot K.I.L. 407 streches out from Nathan to Hankow Roads. So this is probably the time of construction.
The building at the junction with Peking Road is also accessible from Peking Road. In this building Mohan's Tailor was located (just righthand outside the 1935 photo, but shown here in 1952):
1952 TST Junction of Hankow Road and Peking Road, by eternal1966e
Compare the stripes on the pillars!
These buildings stood there until the early 1960`s. Mohan's Building opened 1963, new houses at 38-44 Hankow Road were Han Hing Mansion 1/1964 and Howard Building 9/1965. Hong Kong Pacific Centre (no 28) opened in 1991. So the demolition date was guesssed to be 1962.
Photos that show this place
 1896 |
 1927 |
 1930 |
Comments
Site in 1927 and 1930
The site where the European Houses were built had only a few houses in 1927
and was completely covered by buildings in 1930.
The newspaper article
The newspaper article referred gives several timeline important information:
1) The destruction of the four houses of Fairview sometime later in 1928
2) The planned birth of what would be called Lock Road by 1929 (but looking at later photos at least till 1949, the original plan did not seemed to have occurred)
KOWLOON HOUSES.
---------------------------------
Wing On Co. Involved In Big Scheme.
40 FLATS AND SHOPS.
-------------------------------------
2 Lakhs Nathan-rd. Contract As First Step.
-----------------------------------------------------------------
As part of a bigger scheme for the erection of 40 houses and shops some of which will face Nathan-road, others Hankow-road, Peking-road, and a new road which is to be be (sic.) cut from Peking-road and probably through as far as Haiphong-road eventually, a contract has been entered into for the erection of ten houses facing Nathan-road, to be let as shops on the ground floors and three-room flats for European occupation on the upper floors.
The land involved (110,000 sq. ft.) “is that bounded by Nathan-road, Peking-road and Hankow-road, more than half a block to Haiphong-road, and its owners are the Wing On Company.” The plans on which the architects, Messrs. Clark and Iu, and the contractors, Lau Pui Kee and Co., are now proceeding were approved some years ago and it is considered that conditions are now suitable for the work to proceed.
As soon as the ten houses facing Nathan-road are erected – the contract time is ten and a half months and the price, nearly two lakhs – ten houses are to be erected facing Hankow-road, four facing Peking-road and sixteen facing the new road which is to be constructed.
The scheme involves the pulling down of four of the houses comprised in “Fairview” and the houses at present fronting Hankow-road will also have to come down eventually.
The flats to go above the ground floor shops in the proposed new house will have roomy interiors, flush system and modern conveniences.
Source: The China Mail, page 1, 13th March 1928
https://mmis.hkpl.gov.hk/coverpage/-/coverpage/view?_coverpage_WAR_mmisp...
Re: Wing On Co. Involved In Big Scheme.
Hi David, this is a very interesting newspaper article. I believe that the houses mentioned there were indeed built. See this compilation of aerial photographs:
The article reads:" The land involved (110,000 sq. ft.) “is that bounded by Nathan-road, Peking-road and Hankow-road, more than half a block to Haiphong-road.." The area outlined in red on the right hand side is about 110,000 sq.ft, the total area of the block between Nathan, Peking, Hankow, and Haiphong Roads amounts to nearly 170,000 sq.ft.. The two houses at Haiphong Road and the building on K.I.L 402 (should be Station Hotel) do not belong to the project.
Although "the new road" (i.e. Lock Road later) is not named officially, it is there.
There is a discrepancy in the plan and the final outcome. The original plan said:
.. ten houses facing Nathan-road .... – ten houses are to be erected facing Hankow-road, four facing Peking-road and sixteen facing the new road which is to be constructed.
There were more houses built on Hankow compared to Nathan Roads. Possibly houses at Nathan Road should include K.I.L. 402 (Station Hotel), but the owners might have refused to sell. Instead, more houses were built on K.I.L 400 at Hankow Road.
Regards, Klaus
Thanks Klaus for the direct
Thanks Klaus for the direct overhead aerial shots. I wasn't sure if a road (what would become 'Lock Road') was present from the more oblique lower view photos of the buildings.