Kowloon Telephone Exchange [1929-c.1967] | Gwulo: Old Hong Kong

Kowloon Telephone Exchange [1929-c.1967]

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Submitted by David on Thu, 2020-08-20 16:21
Current condition: 
Demolished / No longer exists
Date Place completed: 
c.1929-01-01 (Month, Day are approximate)
Date Place demolished: 
c.1967-12-31 (Year, Month, Day are approximate)

The building is mentioned as completed in item 40 of the PWD Annual Report for 1929:

Telephone Exchange and Staff Quarters, on K.I.L. 754 Nathan Road.

KIL 754 is shown on the 1920 map of Kowloon.

Tags: 
Telephone Exchange
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Photos that show this place

1930
1958

Comments

Submitted by David on Thu, 2020-08-27 15:51.

The 1956 map shows that HK Telephone were still using the site then, though from the caption it looks as though in 1956 it was home to their catering department.

Submitted by moddsey on Sat, 2020-08-29 06:20.

In 1959, a replacement telephone exchange was being planned for the one at Waterloo Road (installed in 1930). See here

The 1962 Hong Kong Annual Report mentions that the new exchange to replace the existing Waterloo Road Exchange was under construction.

Submitted by David on Wed, 2020-09-02 19:33.

Thanks Moddsey, I guess that new exchange is the one down the cul-de-sac across on the southeast corner of the Waterloo / Nathan Road junctions. I think in the days of electromechanical exchanges the exchange was at the hub of a great number of telephone cables, so if you moved it you wouldn't want to move it far to avoid having to reroute all those cables.

According to Centanet the current building on this site was occupied in July 1969, so I'll add a guess of 1967 for the year the exchange was demolished. The current buiilding is named 'Bell House' - probably a connection with its past via Mr Alexander Graham Bell.