A Modern History of Statue Square, Central, Hong Kong
Revamped and Reopened to the Public in 1966
Me Jamie, English and 52 years living in Hong Kong and I know the know the place - I personally completed 2,324 Private Tours (6,000+ guests) from 2011 - 2020 and was considered one of the finest Private Tour Guides in Asia.
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The original Statue Square prior to 1966 - I would have loved to walked around that, so much history
A Brief Modern History of Statue Square, Central, Hong Kong
Revamped and Reopened to the Public in 1966
Statue Square, Central Business District, Hong Kong
Modern design circa. Mid 1960's
This is a postcard of the 1966 modern Statue Square, it really hasn’t changed that much other than the addition of the MTR Subway Station Exit K to the left of the Statue and a raised sitting out area near the Court of Final Appeal.
I have always been drawn to Statue Square in Central, it was one of the first places we visited when we arrived in Hong Kong as a family in early January 1972, the version of the Square as I know it was completed in the mid 1960's and has not changed much. I felt at home immediately.
This square was surrounded by some magnificent and iconic buildings at the time, The Court of Final Appeal, HSBC, Bank of China, Standard Chartered Bank, Princes Building, The Mandarin Oriental Hotel, City Hall and the amazing Hong Kong Club.
To me, this was the heart and power centre of Hong Kong which even back then was manic, here in this little patch one could just sit and observe Hong Kong in action.
Apparently the name of Statue Square has changed over the past 100 years or so, originally it was called Royal Square, then Queens Statue Square and now just Statue Square.
This is a list of all the statues that stood in Statue Square at one time or another, only Sir Thomas Jackson remains.
• "Fame", HSBC war memorial statue [1923-1942]
• Duke of Connaught Statue (1st location) [1902-1907]
• Queen Victoria's statue (original location) [1896-1942]
• Statue of King Edward VII in Statue Square [1907-1942]
• Statue of Prince of Wales (later King George V) [1907-1942]
• Statue of Princess of Wales, later Queen Mary [1909-1942]
• Statue of Queen Alexandra [1909-1942]
• Statue of Sir Henry May [1923-1942]
• Statue of Sir Thomas Jackson (1st location) [1906-????]
I have always wondered about who owned the real estate that is Statue Square, it is prime real estate directly in front of HSBC Headquarters, well apparently in 1901 HSBC who had acquired the lots previously so to speak came to an arrangement with the Hong Kong Government that the 2 parts of Statue Square would never be developed commercially in perpetuity. A smart move.
I have always admired the ornamental ceramic fountains in Statue Square which were created by Antonio Casadei an Italian Artist in the mid 1960's, he lived in Hong Kong for 20 years or so and his artwork was famous in Hotels and Shopping Malls and so he received the commission to create these ceramic fountains. He did a lot of work for the Mandarin Oriental Hotel and Princes Building both next door to Statue Square and had some other large art placed at various housing estates and some famous restaurants.
… and a note about Sir Thomas Jackson, on the brass plaque below his statue it says he was Chief Manager of HSBC from 1870 - 1902, this is an error, according to the official HSBC Website it clearly states he was Chief Manager of HSBC 3 times between 1876 and 1902, I will take that as fact.
All images taken by me unless I state otherwise
The 3 old images are courtesy of Gwulo and the SCMP
I took this image in 2012 from the Observation deck of the Bank of China Tower which closed over a decade ago, such a shame as it gave you a birds eye view of Statue Square, if you took this image today it would look almost the same. It is funny that I never sit in the Statue Square section across Chater Road and next to the Mandarin Oriental Hotel, it feels alienated from the Square
I took this image in 2012 from the Observation deck of the Bank of China Tower which closed over a decade ago, such a shame as it gave you a birds eye view of Statue Square, if you took this image today it would look almost the same
The hard to find sign that tells the story of how Sir Thomas Jackson of HSBC agreed to work with the Hong Kong Government on the redevelopment of Statue Square back in 1901 and HSBC stuck to the deal and it’s revamp and modernisation went ahead in the mid 1960’s
Sir Thomas Jackson, former Chief Manager of HSBC from 1876 - 1902 and the reason why Statue Square still exists
Exit K, Central MTR Station on Hong Kong Island leads directly into Statue Square
The Court of Final Appeal bordering Statue Square
Statue Square is split into 2 area’s separated by Chater Road, this is the southern part so to speak, the statue of Queen Victoria was located on Chater Road. Plenty of space and it never gets really crowded, Des Vouex Road separates HSBC Headquarters from Statue Square
Statue Square - a great place to eat lunch…….
The statue of Sir Thomas Jackson was recently repolished as it was looking a bit weather worn, it remains the focal point of Statue Square
… and a note about Sir Thomas Jackson, on the brass plaque below his statue it says he was Chief Manager of HSBC from 1870 - 1902, this is an error, according to the official HSBC Website it clearly states he was Chief Manager of HSBC at three different times between 1876 and 1902, I will take that as fact.
There are some quiet spots to be had with more comfortable seating, I sometimes sit here and reflect
As you can imagine, HSBC has unobstructed views across Statue Square - the building to the right is City Hall which opened in the early 1960’s, I spent a lot of time in there as a kid as it had an amazing public library.
Looking East and you will note the tall funky white building, this is the Hong Kong Club Building, which houses the exclusive Hong Kong Club which is not for riff raff like me (I have visited once or twice though!)
Looking West with Princes Building on the left and the Mandarin Oriental Hotel over the road with IFC at 88 floors behind it and across the harbour the rather imposing 118 floors of ICC. There used to be a virtual forest of huge trees in Statue Square which were all uprooted during the passage of Typhoon Ellen in 1983
Ceramic water feature created by Antonio Casadei an Italian Artist living in Hong Kong in the mid 1960's
Ceramic water feature created by Antonio Casadei an Italian Artist in the mid 1960's | you can see his signature on the bottom right hand corner
As mentioned Statue Square was split into two parts, most of the area is devoted to the Cenotaph War Memorial with it’s lovely lawns and is across Chater Road
Statue Square at night is something else by the way with all the surrounding buildings lit up like Christmas Trees!
Statue Square at night
…. and some little known Colonial History - After Hong Kong surrendered to Japanese forces in ate 1941 all the statues were removed from Statue Square, some of them found there way back to Hong Kong after the war.
Information courtesy of the Gwulo Historical Archive Site.
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Jamie, your friend in Hong Kong
52 years living in Hong Kong, our family arrived on January 2nd 1972
I have lived here for 25 years under British Rule, 27 years under Chinese Rule
I have 45 years of Business Consultancy experience in Hong Kong
My wife is a local & has lived her entire life in Hong Kong, her first language is Cantonese
We have 3 Adult sons all born and educated in Hong Kong, 2 still live in Hong Kong
I pioneered the Private Tour Industry in Hong Kong in 2010
2,324 completed award winning Private Tours of Hong Kong from 2011 - 2020
……and yes, I am a bit of an expert on the Hong Kong car culture!
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