Queen's Building () was a late 19th-century neoclassical building located in Central, Hong Kong. Named after

Queen Victoria Victoria (Alexandrina Victoria; 24 May 1819 – 22 January 1901) was Queen of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland from 20 June 1837 until Death and state funeral of Queen Victoria, her death in January 1901. Her reign of 63 year ...

, it was situated to the west of

Statue Square Statue Square ( zh, t=皇后像廣場; lit. "Empress' Statue Square") is a public pedestrian square in Central, Hong Kong. Built entirely on reclaimed land at the end of the 19th century, Statue Square consists of two parts separated by ...

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 ...

's waterfront with

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 ...

at the time. It was demolished in 1962 and replaced with the

Mandarin Oriental, Hong Kong The Mandarin Oriental, Hong Kong is a five-star hotel on Connaught Road Central in Central, Hong Kong, owned and managed by Mandarin Oriental Hotel Group. History Construction of the hotel on the site of the colonial Queen's Building o ...

History

In the 1880s, the colonial government of

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 ...

initiated the

Praya Reclamation Scheme The Praya Reclamation Scheme () was a large scale land reclamation in Hong Kong, land reclamation project carried out by the Hong Kong Land company in 19th Century Hong Kong under Catchick Paul Chater, Sir Catchick Paul Chater and Keswick family#Ja ...

to expand the amount of land available in the city. However, the project soon ran into difficulties; it almost went bankrupt in 1893 when finances ran low and inclement weather from

typhoon A typhoon is a tropical cyclone that develops between 180° and 100°E in the Northern Hemisphere and which produces sustained hurricane-force winds of at least . This region is referred to as the Northwestern Pacific Basin, accounting for a ...

s delayed the reclamation. Despite these challenges, the project was finished in 1904, costing more than $3 million. It added a total of of land and shifted

's harbour front from

Des Voeux Road Des Voeux Road Central ( Chinese: 德輔道中) and Des Voeux Road West ( Chinese: 德輔道西) are two roads on the north shore of Hong Kong Island, Hong Kong. They were named after the 10th Governor of Hong Kong, Sir William Des Vœux. Th ...

Connaught Road Connaught Road ( Chinese: 干諾道) is a major thoroughfare on the north shore of Hong Kong Island, Hong Kong. It links Shing Sai Road in Kennedy Town to the west and Harcourt Road in Admiralty to the east. Location The road consis ...

. Half of this new land was set aside constructing new buildings, with the other half utilised for

thoroughfare A thoroughfare is a primary passage or way of transport, whether by road on dry land or, by extension, via watercraft or aircraft. Originally, the word referred to a main road or open street which was frequented thoroughly. Different terms *Roa ...

s and

public space A public space is a place that is open and accessible to the general public. Roads, pavements, public squares, parks, and beaches are typically considered public space. To a limited extent, government buildings which are open to the public, su ...

s. Queen's Building was one of the new structures conceived under this plan and its construction began at around the same time that the reclamation scheme was being carried out. Hong Kong architectural firm

Leigh & Orange Leigh & Orange Ltd (, formerly known as ), 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 headquarters in Hong Kong with branch o ...

were commissioned to be the architects and in 1899, the construction was completed. It was one of two arcaded

Victorian Victorian or Victorians may refer to: 19th century * Victorian era, British history during Queen Victoria's 19th-century reign ** Victorian architecture ** Victorian house ** Victorian decorative arts ** Victorian fashion ** Victorian literatur ...

structures that flanked

(the old Hong Kong Club Building being the other). Queen's Building was viewed as one of the finest examples of

Neoclassical architecture Neoclassical architecture, sometimes referred to as Classical Revival architecture, is an architectural style produced by the Neoclassicism, Neoclassical movement that began in the mid-18th century in Italy, France and Germany. It became one of t ...

in Hong Kong, so much so that it was labelled "the city's most prestigious commercial building" when it opened. It was four storeys high and featured

portico A portico is a porch leading to the entrance of a building, or extended as a colonnade, with a roof structure over a walkway, supported by columns or enclosed by walls. This idea was widely used in ancient Greece and has influenced many cu ...

balconies A balcony (from , "scaffold") is a platform projecting from the wall of a building, supported by columns or console brackets, and enclosed with a balustrade, usually above the ground floor. They are commonly found on multi-level houses, apartme ...

and

arch An arch is a curved vertical structure spanning an open space underneath it. Arches may support the load above them, or they may perform a purely decorative role. As a decorative element, the arch dates back to the 4th millennium BC, but stru ...

es, topped off with a small

cupola In architecture, a cupola () is a relatively small, usually dome-like structure on top of a building often crowning a larger roof or dome. Cupolas often serve as a roof lantern to admit light and air or as a lookout. The word derives, via Ital ...

. It primarily housed shipping, insurance and trading corporations from Europe, and the entrance of Queen's Building became a popular stop for

rickshaw Rickshaw originally denoted a pulled rickshaw, which is a two- or three-wheeled cart generally pulled by one person carrying one passenger. The first known use of the term was in 1879. Over time, cycle rickshaws (also known as pedicabs or tr ...

s and

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 el ...

s. By the

1960 It is also known as the "Year of Africa" because of major events—particularly the independence of seventeen African nations—that focused global attention on the continent and intensified feelings of Pan-Africanism. Events January * Janu ...

s, Hong Kong saw an increase in modern commercial development. As a result, Queen's Building was demolished in 1962, with an office building planned as its replacement. However, this did not come to fruition, and the

was constructed on the site instead, opening in October 1963.

References

Footnotes Bibliography * {{coord, 22.2817, 114.1594, display=title Central, Hong Kong Demolished buildings and structures in Hong Kong Commercial buildings completed in 1899 Buildings and structures demolished in 1963 1899 establishments in Hong Kong 1963 disestablishments in Hong Kong

History

See also

References