Queen's Building
{{About|the building in Hong Kong|the building in Wolverhampton, England|Queen's Building, Wolverhampton|other uses|Queens Building (disambiguation){{!}}Queens Building}}
{{distinguish|text=Queen's Place, formerly site of another Queen's Building, on 74 Queen's Road Central }}
{{EngvarB|date=February 2014}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=February 2014}}
{{Infobox historic site
| name = Queen's Building
| native_name = 皇后行
| native_language = Chinese
| image = Queen's Building 1890s (Hong Kong).jpg
| caption = Queen's Building during the 1890s
| location = Central, Hong Kong
| built = 1899
| demolished = 1962
| architect = Leigh & Orange
| architecture = Neoclassical; Victorian
| governing_body =
| owner =
}}
Queen's Building ({{zh|t=皇后行|j=Wong4hau6 Hong4}}) was a late 19th-century neoclassical building located in Central, Hong Kong. Named after Queen Victoria, it was situated to the west of Statue Square on Hong Kong Island's waterfront with Victoria Harbour at the time. It was demolished in 1962 and replaced with the Mandarin Oriental, Hong Kong.
History
In the 1880s, the colonial government of Hong Kong initiated the Praya Reclamation Scheme to expand the amount of land available in the city.{{sfn|Wiltshire|2012|p=51}} However, the project soon ran into difficulties; it almost went bankrupt in 1893 when finances ran low and inclement weather from typhoons delayed the reclamation. Despite these challenges, the project was finished in 1904, costing more than $3 million. It added a total of {{convert|65|acre|ha}} of land and shifted Hong Kong Island's harbour front from Des Voeux Road to Connaught Road. Half of this new land was set aside constructing new buildings, with the other half utilised for thoroughfares and public spaces. 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.{{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=KFR863wtSykC&q=the+prince%27s+and+queen%27s+buildings+and+statue+of+sir+thomas+jackson&pg=PA277|title=Voices from the Past: Hong Kong, 1842–1918|publisher=Hong Kong University Press|year=2002|editor-last=Bard|editor-first=Solomon|pages=87|isbn=9789622095748|access-date=12 April 2013}} Hong Kong architectural firm Leigh & Orange were commissioned to be the architects and in 1899, the construction was completed.{{Cite journal|last=Lam|first=Tony|title=50 years of Hong Kong Institute of Architects – From British Colonization to Japanese Invasion|journal=HKIA Journal|issue=45|page=45|publisher=Hong Kong Institute of Architects|location=Hong Kong|date=30 May 2006|issn=1028-4842|url=http://www.hkia.net/en/pdf/journal/journal_issue45_02.pdf|access-date=13 April 2013|quote=Leigh & Orange became Leigh & Orange (L&O). The firm still exists today. The buildings completed by the firm in this period were Queen's Building 1899...}} It was one of two arcaded Victorian structures that flanked Statue Square (the old Hong Kong Club Building being the other).{{sfn|Wiltshire|2012|p=46}}
Queen's Building was viewed as one of the finest examples of Neoclassical architecture in Hong Kong, so much so that it was labelled "the city's most prestigious commercial building" when it opened.{{sfn|Wiltshire|2012|p=51}} It was four storeys high and featured porticos, balconies and arches,{{sfn|Wiltshire|2012|p=51}} topped off with a small cupola.{{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=qTAZLIY3D7QC&q=queen%27s+building+hong+kong&pg=PA28|title=Exploring Hong Kong Island|publisher=Hong Kong University Press|date=1 May 2002|last=Wordie|first=Jason|pages=28|isbn=9789622095632|access-date=13 April 2013}} It primarily housed shipping, insurance and trading corporations from Europe,{{cite news|title=The lost picture show|url=http://docs.newsbank.com/openurl?ctx_ver=z39.88-2004&rft_id=info:sid/iw.newsbank.com:AWNB:CMP1&rft_val_format=info:ofi/fmt:kev:mtx:ctx&rft_dat=1321F9B303EC0740&svc_dat=InfoWeb:aggregated5&req_dat=105B9A93AF33E3E3|date=4 September 2005|access-date=13 April 2013|first=Paul|last=Kay|page=24|newspaper=South China Morning Post}} {{subscription required}} and the entrance of Queen's Building became a popular stop for rickshaws and sedan chairs.{{sfn|Wiltshire|2012|p=51}}
By the 1960s, Hong Kong saw an increase in modern commercial development.{{sfn|Wiltshire|2012|p=51}} As a result, Queen's Building was demolished in 1962,{{cite news|title=The square that put an old queen in her place |url=http://www.thestandard.com.hk/news_detail.asp?pp_cat=&art_id=27956&sid=&con_type=1&d_str=19990502&sear_year=1999 |date=2 May 1999 |access-date=13 April 2013 |first=Jason |last=Wordie |newspaper=The Standard |location=Hong Kong |url-status=bot: unknown |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120314033829/http://www.thestandard.com.hk/news_detail.asp?pp_cat=&art_id=27956&sid=&con_type=1&d_str=19990502&sear_year=1999 |archive-date=14 March 2012 }} with an office building planned as its replacement.{{sfn|Wiltshire|2012|p=51}} However, this did not come to fruition, and the Mandarin Oriental, Hong Kong was constructed on the site instead, opening in October 1963.{{cite news|title=Mandarin Oriental Hong Kong review|url=http://www.thehindu.com/life-and-style/travel/article2531136.ece|date=12 October 2011|access-date=13 April 2013|first=Ketaki|last=Bhojnagarwala|newspaper=The Hindu}}
See also
References
Footnotes
{{Reflist|colwidth=30em}}
Bibliography
{{refbegin}}
- {{cite book|title=A Stroll Through Colonial Hong Kong|publisher=FormAsia Books Ltd. |isbn=978-988-15562-3-3 |year=2012 |last=Wiltshire |first=Trea}}
{{refend}}
{{Commons category|Queen's Building}}
{{Portal bar|Hong Kong|Architecture|British Empire}}
{{coord|22.2817|114.1594|display=title}}
Category:Demolished buildings and structures in Hong Kong
Category:Commercial buildings completed in 1899
Category:Buildings and structures demolished in 1963