Star Ferry Pier, Central () may refer to any of the successive generations of Central Ferry Piers in Central,

Hong Kong Hong Kong)., Legally Hong Kong, China in international treaties and organizations. is a special administrative region of China. With 7.5 million residents in a territory, Hong Kong is the fourth most densely populated region in the wor ...

used by the

Star Ferry The Star Ferry () is a passenger ferry service operator and tourist attraction in Hong Kong. Its principal routes carry passengers across Victoria Harbour, between Hong Kong Island and Kowloon. The service is operated by the Star Ferry Com ...

for its services across

Victoria Harbour Victoria Harbour is a natural landform harbor, harbour in Hong Kong separating Hong Kong Island in the south from the Kowloon Peninsula to the north. It acts as both a major trading hub and tourist attraction of Hong Kong in general. Lying in ...

to Tsim Sha Tsui Ferry Pier and until April 2011, to Hung Hom Pier. The current Star Ferry pier is the fourth to bear the name in Central. It opened for public service on 12 November 2006.

Location

First generation

First Generation (1890) was located at the junction of

Pedder Street Pedder Street is a major thoroughfare in the core of Hong Kong's Central District. It runs south–north from Queen's Road Central, continues through Des Voeux Road Central, and ends at its intersection with Connaught Road Central. History ...

and

Chater Road Chater Road (Traditional Chinese characters, Chinese: 遮打道) is a three-lane road in Central, Hong Kong, Central, Hong Kong named after Paul Chater, Sir Paul Chater. It begins at its intersection with Pedder Street and Des Voeux Road Centr ...

.Eric Cavaliero
Star of the harbour
, ''The Standard'', 6 February 1997 The first ferry pier was a simple wooden shelter with a roof. A temporary pier off Ice House Street, located across from Queen's Building was then leased to the Star Ferry Co. from 1900. It was replaced in 1912 by the Second Generation pier, at the same location. Hkstarferry1912

Second generation

Second Generation (1910) was located opposite to the end of Ice House Street,EIA: A survey report of Historical Buildings and Structures within the Project Area of the Central Reclamation Phase III
Chan Sui San Peter for the HK Government, February 2001Star Ferry Pier (Central, 2nd Location) [1912]
Gwulo: Old Hong Kong website at the present site of

Jardine House Jardine House (), formerly known as Connaught Centre (), is an office tower in Hong Kong. The building is located at 1 Connaught Place, Central on Hong Kong Island. It is owned by Hongkong Land Limited, a subsidiary of Jardines. At the tim ...

Third generation

Third Generation (1957) near Edinburgh Place, decommissioned 11 November 2006. The pier was created in the late 1950s following a major

land reclamation Land reclamation, often known as reclamation, and also known as land fill (not to be confused with a waste landfill), is the process of creating new Terrestrial ecoregion, land from oceans, list of seas, seas, Stream bed, riverbeds or lake ...

in Central. The pier was built in 1957 in the

Streamline Moderne Streamline Moderne is an international style of Art Deco architecture and design that emerged in the 1930s. Inspired by Aerodynamics, aerodynamic design, it emphasized curving forms, long horizontal lines, and sometimes nautical elements. In indu ...

style at the height of the

Modern Movement Modernism was an early 20th-century movement in literature, visual arts, and music that emphasized experimentation, abstraction, and Subjectivity and objectivity (philosophy), subjective experience. Philosophy, politics, architecture, and soc ...

near the

City Hall In local government, a city hall, town hall, civic centre (in the UK or Australia), guildhall, or municipal hall (in the Philippines) is the chief administrative building of a city, town, or other municipality. It usually houses the city o ...

complex, which was being planned at the time. Its completion was concurrent with the completion of the still standing Tsim Sha Tsui Ferry Pier, which was built on the

Kowloon Kowloon () is one of the areas of Hong Kong, three areas of Hong Kong, along with Hong Kong Island and the New Territories. It is an urban area comprising the Kowloon Peninsula and New Kowloon. It has a population of 2,019,533 and a populat ...

side. The Star Ferry Pier was designed by a local Chinese architect, Hung Yip Chan (born in 1921). He worked at the Architectural Office (AO) of the

Hong Kong Government The Government of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (commonly known as the Hong Kong Government or HKSAR Government) is the Executive (government), executive authorities of Hong Kong. It was established on 1 July 1997, following the ...

from 1952 to 1957 as an assistant architect. He designed the facade of the pier, and the Chief Architect Michael Wright added the

Clock Tower Clock towers are a specific type of structure that house a turret clock and have one or more clock faces on the upper exterior walls. Many clock towers are freestanding structures but they can also adjoin or be located on top of another building ...

to make the pier more balanced and practical.

Fourth generation

Fourth Generation (2006) – also known as "Central Ferry Piers 7 and 8" at Man Kwong Street. Central Piers 7 and 8 were built to replace the Edinburgh Place Ferry Pier in Central, on

Hong Kong Island Hong Kong Island () is an island in the southern part of Hong Kong. The island, known originally and on road signs simply as "Hong Kong", had a population of 1,289,500 and a population density of , . It is the second largest island in Hong Kon ...

, pursuant of the

Central and Wan Chai Reclamation Central and Wan Chai Reclamation is a project launched by the government of Hong Kong since the 1990s to reclaim land for different purposes. This includes transportation improvements such as the Hong Kong MTR station, Airport Express Railway ...

projects. The building design resembles the second generation pier. The pier was moved further into

, and constructed on reclaimed land approximately 300 metres away from the former site (

as the crow flies The expression ''as the crow flies'' is an idiom for the most direct path between two points. Etymology The meaning of the expression is attested from the early 19th century, and appeared in the Charles Dickens novel ''Oliver Twist'' (1838): ...

). The new pier is located directly northwards, in front of the old pier. Part of the new pier was built at the time of the reclamation for the

Hong Kong station Hong Kong () is a station of the MTR metro system in Hong Kong Hong Kong)., Legally Hong Kong, China in international treaties and organizations. is a special administrative region of China. With 7.5 million residents in a terri ...

of the Airport Express MTR line and the International Finance Centre. It thus derives its name from having been Pier No.7 of the outlying islands ferry piers. Pier 8 was subsequently converted and is currently housing the Hong Kong Maritime Museum since February 2013. As a consequence, Pier 7 remains the only one serving the Star Ferry in Central.

Design

As these structures occupy a prime waterfront site, the Government had attempted to develop the piers into a new landmark for public enjoyment. The Star Ferry proposed a historical heritage design approach and this pier was expanded eastwards to resemble a replica of the second generation

Edwardian In the United Kingdom, the Edwardian era was a period in the early 20th century that spanned the reign of King Edward VII from 1901 to 1910. It is commonly extended to the start of the First World War in 1914, during the early reign of King Ge ...

pier. The present mock-Edwardian pier, being a 600-square-metre terminal, features a clock tower with a new set of five electronically controlled bells that sound similar to those of the former

Edinburgh Place Ferry Pier Edinburgh Place Ferry Pier, often referred to as the "Star Ferry" Pier, was a pier in Edinburgh Place, Central, Hong Kong, serving the Star Ferry. The pier, with its clock tower, was a prominent waterfront landmark. Built in 1957 at the heigh ...

. Other design features of the building include open-air pier, natural lighting, including skylights. The bottom two floors of each of the two "finger piers" will serve as boarding and waiting rooms, while the top floors will feature a public viewing deck, a canteen-style restaurant and a café. The Star Ferry Company has also applied to set up a bar in one area of the top floor. To get to the public viewing corridor, visitors should pass through the passage to the Waterfront restaurant and turn right.

Design controversy

The Government's attempt at

architecture drew some criticism from the public in both the design and materials used, and the structure has been criticised as "an imitation of the past without capturing the spirit of the past or present". It has been derided amongst others as "theme park" in appearance.Ng Tze-wei
"Not even HK's storied Star Ferry can face down developers
10 November 2006, ''International Herald Tribune''

References

External links

Star Ferry official site
{{Coord, 22, 17, 14, N, 114, 9, 40, E, display=title Central, Hong Kong Piers in Hong Kong Star Ferry Streamline Moderne architecture in Hong Kong Victoria Harbour