The Old Dairy Farm Depot, or Old Dairy Farm Building, is a building in

Central, Hong Kong Central (also Central District) is the central business district of Hong Kong. It is located in Central and Western District, on the north shore of Hong Kong Island, across Victoria Harbour from Tsim Sha Tsui, the southernmost point of Kowloo ...

, which currently houses the

Hong Kong Fringe Club The Fringe Club is a not-for-profit arts organisation. Its mission is to help emergent artists, promote Hong Kong artists abroad through cultural exchange and overseas touring, and conserve and develop Hong Kong cultural heritage. It provides ...

(South Block) and the

Foreign Correspondents' Club Foreign Correspondents' Club is a group of clubs for foreign correspondents and other journalists. Some clubs are members only, and some are open to the public. Cambodia The Foreign Correspondents' Club in Phnom Penh, capital of Cambodia, is a ...

(North Block). It is located at 2

Lower Albert Road Lower Albert Road is a road on the Government Hill in the Central area of Hong Kong. The road was named after Prince Albert of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha, the consort of Queen Victoria. Features The south major entrance of the Former Central Governm ...

. The back of the building is located along

Wyndham Street Wyndham Street is a one-way street in Central, Hong Kong. It is one of the earliest colonial streets, once known as Pedder Hill. Location It starts at the junction with Hollywood Road and Arbuthnot Road, near the Central Police Station, and ...

, while its edge faces Glenealy.

History

In 1892,

Dairy Farm Dairy farming is a class of agriculture for long-term production of milk, which is processed (either on the farm or at a dairy plant, either of which may be called a dairy) for eventual sale of a dairy product. Dairy farming has a history that ...

built a low-rise brick and

stucco Stucco or render is a construction material made of aggregates, a binder, and water. Stucco is applied wet and hardens to a very dense solid. It is used as a decorative coating for walls and ceilings, exterior walls, and as a sculptural and a ...

building on Lower Albert Road in Central for use as a cold storage warehouse. It was designed by Danby & Leigh (now

Leigh & Orange Leigh & Orange Ltd ( Chinese: 利安, formerly known as 李柯倫治), founded in Hong Kong in 1874, is an international architectural and interior design practice. The group has a total of 550 staff and operates through its headquarter ...

). The original depot only comprised about half (the southern part) of the present premises. This warehouse was later renovated and expanded in 1913, 1917 and 1925 to include a dairy shop, a room for meat smoking, a cold storage room for winter clothes and residency for the general manager. The building later evolved into the company headquarters until the company moved in the 1970s. The Foreign Correspondents' Club started occupying the North Block in 1982. The South Block has been leased by the Hong Kong Fringe Club since 1984. It has undergone many major

renovation Renovation (also called remodeling) is the process of improving broken, damaged, or outdated structures. Renovations are typically done on either commercial or residential buildings. Additionally, renovation can refer to making something new, ...

s since the Fringe Club moved in.

Architecture

The building is built in the Eclectic architectural style with strong Neoclassical and some

Arts and Crafts A handicraft, sometimes more precisely expressed as artisanal handicraft or handmade, is any of a wide variety of types of work where useful and decorative objects are made completely by one’s hand or by using only simple, non-automated re ...

influence. The facade features polychromatic "bandaged" brickworks.

Conservation

The building is located along the

Central and Western Heritage Trail The Central and Western Heritage Trail is a Heritage trails in Hong Kong, Heritage Trail in Hong Kong, that was designed by the Antiquities and Monuments Office of the Leisure and Cultural Services Department. It covers the Central and Western Dist ...

. It was listed as a Grade II historic building in 1981, and as a Grade I historic building in 2009. The project of renovation and refurbishment of the Old Dairy Farm Building and its conversion into the Hong Kong Fringe Club was a winner of the 2001 Hong Kong Heritage Awards, organised by the

Antiquities Advisory Board The Antiquities Advisory Board (AAB) is a statutory body of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region with the responsibility of advising the Antiquities Authority on any matters relating to antiquities and monuments. The AAB was establish ...

and the

Antiquities and Monuments Office The Antiquities and Monuments Office (AMO) was established in 1976 under the Antiquities and Monuments Ordinance to protect and preserve Hong Kong's historic monuments. Housed in the Former Kowloon British School, the AMO is responsible for iden ...

.Winning Entries of Hong Kong Heritage Awards (2001)
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References

{{coord, 22.2802, N, 114.156, E, source:kolossus-zhwiki, display=title Central, Hong Kong Grade I historic buildings in Hong Kong Commercial buildings completed in 1890