The Peak Lookout
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The Peak Lookout is a restaurant located in a heritage house at
Victoria Gap Victoria Gap () is an area and a mountain pass located between the summits of Victoria Peak (aka. Mount Austin) and Mount Gough, on Hong Kong Island, in Hong Kong. It is the most touristic place within the area referred to as '' The Peak'', wh ...
, near the summit of
Victoria Peak Victoria Peak is a hill on the western half of Hong Kong Island. It is also known as Mount Austin, and locally as The Peak only generally. With an elevation of , it is the highest hill on Hong Kong Island, ranked 29 in terms of elevation in H ...
on
Hong Kong Island Hong Kong Island is an Islands and peninsulas of Hong Kong, island in the southern part of Hong Kong. Known colloquially and on road signs simply as Hong Kong, the island has a population of 1,289,500 and its population density is 16,390/km ...
,
Hong Kong Hong Kong ( (US) or (UK); , ), officially the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region of the People's Republic of China ( abbr. Hong Kong SAR or HKSAR), is a city and special administrative region of China on the eastern Pearl River Delt ...
. It is housed in a 19th-century Grade II Historic Building. Originally known as the Old Peak Café, the restaurant has an open terrace overlooking
Aberdeen Aberdeen (; sco, Aiberdeen ; gd, Obar Dheathain ; la, Aberdonia) is a city in North East Scotland, and is the third most populous city in the country. Aberdeen is one of Scotland's 32 local government council areas (as Aberdeen City), and ...
,
Pok Fu Lam Country Park Pok Fu Lam Country Park is located on Pok Fu Lam, the western end of the Southern District of Hong Kong Island. The 270-hectare park was designated in 1979. Ecology The park is located at the foot of Mount Victoria. Since being declared a par ...
and the
South China Sea The South China Sea is a marginal sea of the Western Pacific Ocean. It is bounded in the north by the shores of South China (hence the name), in the west by the Indochinese Peninsula, in the east by the islands of Taiwan and northwestern Phil ...
. The Peak Lookout at Terminal 1 of the
Hong Kong International Airport Hong Kong International Airport is Hong Kong's main airport, built on reclaimed land on the island of Chek Lap Kok, Hong Kong. The airport is also referred to as Chek Lap Kok International Airport or ''Chek Lap Kok Airport'', to distinguish ...
opened in November 2012.


History

The Peak Lookout has experienced major transformations in function and renovations since the site was used in 1888 as a rest place and workshop for British engineers that constructed the
Peak Tram The Peak Tram is a funicular railway in Hong Kong, which carries both tourists and residents to the upper levels of Hong Kong Island. Running from Garden Road Admiralty to Victoria Peak via the Mid-Levels, it provides the most direct route and o ...
line.Brief Information 1444 Historic Buildings, Item #222
In 1901, the site was handed over to the government and built into a chair shelter and rest place for
sedan chair The litter is a class of wheelless vehicles, a type of human-powered transport, for the transport of people. Smaller litters may take the form of open chairs or beds carried by two or more carriers, some being enclosed for protection from the e ...
carriers for both public and private sedan chairs (similar to taxis and chauffeurs today).Peak Café, Heritage Trails
An 1898 official report stated: "A suitable area is being leveled for the accommodation of chairs and it is proposed to erect a permanent structure on this site as a shelter for chairs and bearers." Shortly afterwards, it was reported that: "The masonry is completed and the roof is on, so that the coolies can even now shelter from the weather. The building being in an exposed position is built in a very solid and massive way to defy typhoons." In 1902, it was reported that the building had been fully completed: "It is divided into two sections, one of which is for the accommodation of public chairs,whilst the other is for private chairs. The former is entirely enclosed, large sliding doors being provided along the front, whilst the latter is left open in front. The Walls are of the blue stone obtainable in the neighbourhood, with granite dressings, and the floors are laid with cement concrete, the roofs being tiled in the usual way. A space is left in front of the shed, clear of the road, on which the chairs can stand during fine weather." It has been suggested that the stone for the building may have been left over from the construction of the Governor's Peak residence,
Mountain Lodge Mountain Lodge was the former summer residence of the Governor of Hong Kong on Victoria Peak on the Hong Kong Island in Hong Kong. The second building was a two-storey Renaissance style home and was demolished in 1946. The site is now the ...
, which has now been demolished. It was opened to the public in 1923 when sedan chair carriers were allowed to serve for tourists at the Peak.山頂餐廳
During the
Japanese occupation of Hong Kong The Imperial Japanese occupation of Hong Kong began when the Governor of Hong Kong, Mark Aitchison Young, Sir Mark Young, surrendered the British Crown colony of British Hong Kong, Hong Kong to the Empire of Japan on 25 December 1941. The surr ...
(1941–1945), the chair shelter was believed to be used by the Japanese army as a police station.花崗石砌成的太平山餐廳
The catering history began in 1947 when it was suggested that the building should be converted into an open-air café, serving light refreshments. "Since that date," wrote an official of the Peak Tram in 1977, "the building has been used as a café. Subsequently the arches of the building were fitted with wood and glass doors and, at a latter date, wooden flooring was laid on top of the original concrete floor. Other than these minor modifications, the building stands as it was originally built." The increasing popularity of the Peak area led to a proposal in 1973 to demolish The Peak Lookout building to make way for a car park. The resulting outcry and public petition ensured that this plan was scrapped. The Old Peak Café was given Grade II Historic Building status as a historic building in Hong Kong by 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 ...
in 1981.List of the Historic Buildings in Building Assessment (as of 18 March 2009), p.14
.
Grade II is defined as "Buildings of special merit; efforts should be made to selectively preserve".Definitions of Gradings of Historical Buildings
As the 1973 petition was approved, the company Freedragon Ltd. won the bid for the rental contract from the government to continue running the café business when the café's rental contract expired in 1989. The Old Peak Café was renovated and renamed The Peak Lookout in 2001. Most recently in October 2012, The Peak Lookout reopened its doors following a redesign, which includes the introduction of a contemporary raised outdoor terrace for al fresco dining.


Architecture

Originally, the architecture of The Peak Lookout was largely in the
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 ...
style, which was popular in late- Victorian and
Edwardian The Edwardian era or Edwardian period of British history spanned the reign of King Edward VII, 1901 to 1910 and is sometimes extended to the start of the First World War. The death of Queen Victoria in January 1901 marked the end of the Victori ...
times. However, due to numerous renovations and other alterations throughout the years, The Peak Lookout now has a considerably different appearance to when it was originally used as a chair shelter. For example, the roof tiles have been replaced by Chinese ones.Brief Information on Proposed Grade 2 Items, Item#222
.
It is a single-storey building with a red, pitched roof, reminiscent of an English country cottage. Adding to this impression are the stone walls, arched windows, black and white
half-timbering Timber framing (german: Holzfachwerk) and "post-and-beam" construction are traditional methods of building with heavy timbers, creating structures using squared-off and carefully fitted and joined timbers with joints secured by large wooden ...
on the gable, and the visible chimney stack. The building's garden surrounds are notable for the old boundary wall, and a wide variety of trees, shrubs and flowers complete the austere, rural appearance. The inside of the restaurant is dimly lit and decorated with old photographs of life on the Peak several generations ago. Most of the earlier interior ambiance has been retained. The Peak Lookout is one of few remaining examples of Arts and Crafts architecture in Hong Kong. The restaurant continues to attract local patrons from Hong Kong as well as foreign visitors. Due to its historical background, food and views, The Peak Lookout is a popular venue for hosting weddings and private events.


Surroundings

Other structures located near the Peak Lookout include: *The
Peak Tower The Peak Tower is a leisure and shopping complex located at Victoria Gap, near the summit of Victoria Peak on Hong Kong Island, Hong Kong. It also houses the upper terminal of the Peak Tram. Both the Peak Tower and the Peak Tram are owned ...
, a leisure and shopping complex, where the Peak Tram terminus is located *
The Peak Galleria The Peak Galleria () is a leisure and shopping complex and a tourist attraction located at Victoria Gap, near the summit of Victoria Peak on Hong Kong Island, Hong Kong. It is owned and run by Hang Lung Properties. It includes a bus termi ...
, a shopping mall


See also

*
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 ...


References


External links


Antiquities and Monuments Office, Leisure and Cultural Services Department
{{DEFAULTSORT:Peak Lookout Victoria Peak Restaurants in Hong Kong Grade II historic buildings in Hong Kong