Hongkong Some pictures of No.2 Devon Road in 1961. History

Hongkong Some pictures of No.2 Devon Road in 1961. History

Arek Madiun   6:36 AM   Comment  

A little over a year ago I republished a blog entry about the original houses that can still be found in Kowloon Tong. You can read about it here: Down in the Tong. I'm very lucky because a very nice person called Kathryn has sent me some photos of one of the houses that is (currently...) still standing.

No. 2 Devon Road is still in fairly decent condition and looks to have had very little done to it over the years, unlike many of the other original buildings that have been extensively remodeled or even worse, just demolished. Here's a picture I took of it a year or so ago - unfortunately, this was the best shot I could get without making people think I was a burglar.

Anyway, here is how the property looked 50 + years ago, all the way back in 1961.

The pictures have been scanned from 50 year old slides (one of several thousand from Kathryn's mum's 1960s Asia trip) and so I've had to guess which way round the house should be. But judging by the current layout with a path from the front gate on the right hand side, I think this should be the right way around. The house next door - #3 Devon Road - can be seen on the right of the picture and was demolished more than 20 years ago to make way for a more modern property.

There are also a few pictures taken inside the house.

The dining room

A party in the living room/lounge

Family dog chilling out

One of the most interesting shots for me though is this one that looks to have been taken from the front upstairs balcony (all the old houses had open balconies).

It's interesting because it is looking over to the area where the Baptist Hospital and Broadcast Drive now stands. Look closely and you will just see hills typical of the type that once covered the whole of Kowloon. Pretty much all of them have been removed for development. The ridge at the back is actually the eastern side of Lion Rock. The two buildings you can see are Cornwall Terrace in the far background (it's still around, see below) and what looks to be either #6 or #8 Dorset Crescent (I'm erring on the side of #8). 

Cornwall Terrace seen from Cornwall Street

Although Cornwall Terrace is still around, the view from Devon Road is now obscured by a profusion of theological institutes built along Dorset Crescent.

Anyway, once again, many thanks to Kathryn for her generous sharing of some very old pictures - although to be honest the quality of the colour on them makes them seem much more recent.

Hongkong #4 Dorset Crescent, Kowloon Tong History

Hongkong #4 Dorset Crescent, Kowloon Tong History

Arek Madiun   5:08 AM   Comment  

You may recall from a previous post (if you made it to the end) that I was particularly miffed (to put it lightly) about the very recent demolition of one of the original Kowloon Tong Estate mansions.

Here�s the problem � yes, there are many original houses still standing, but many have been modified beyond their original design and it seemed as though # 4 Dorset Crescent was a fantastic example of the houses in their original form (along with the green-painted kindergarten on Cumberland Road). I was so happy to have stumbled across the place via Streetview that I wasted no time getting down there to grab a shot only to discover I was already too late. Sadly, the land had been sold the previous summer and the building has since been demolished and the ground cleared (including removing the elegant trees that shaded the front wall).

Something's missing...!?

In case you couldn't remember, or can't be bothered to find it in the other post, here's a reminder of what used to be there.

Well, it seems as though I wasn�t the only person to have recognised the beauty and elegance (and perhaps historical significance) of the house and, lucky for us all, Henry-On-The-Hill, a fellow architecture fan and general good person has provided me with two additional pictures of the house just prior to its demolition.

Courtesy of Henry-on-the-hill

According the Henry's picture above, it�s obvious that the front trees went long before the house did. Sadly, wanton destruction of aged and beautiful trees is almost as widespread as the destruction of aged and beautiful buildings. 

Courtesy of Henry-on-the-hill

The last photo shows the rear of the property, photographed from the vantage point of the Cornwall Street Children's playground. These are probably the last ever photos taken of the house before it ended up in the landfill � I wonder how many of the original internal features still existed and have been dumped along with all the bricks? 

So a big thanks to Henry for preserving the house in photographic form � it�s certainly more than the new owners have bothered to do.

In the meantime (thanks to Ian for posting the original links), Queens Garden Development Limited - the company that bought the land and demolished the house - has applied for permission to build a temporary kindergarten on this and the plot next door. Here are the links to the planning application and subsequent revisions.

http://www.info.gov.hk/tpb/en/plan_application/A_K18_290.html

http://www.info.gov.hk/tpb/tc/plan_application/Attachment/20120710/s16fi_A_K18_290_2_gist.pdf

Great! Just what Kowloon Tong needs - another school that allows its MPV driving parents to park illegally, clogging up the already woefully inadequate roads around here *SIGH*...

Hongkong Down in "The Tong" History

Hongkong Down in "The Tong" History

Arek Madiun   7:03 AM   Comment  

I don't live in Kowloon Tong but I do go through it almost everyday because it's my nearest MTR station and despite popping in on the odd occasion over the years, it wasn't until we moved to Kowloon that I found the time and energy I needed to explore a bit more. You'd be surprised about how much there is to find here. However, it wasn't until recently that my interest in the original Kowloon Tong Estate was piqued because of some old photos posted up on Gwulo.com that showed some of the original Kowloon Tong houses.

Let's be specific. When I talk about Kowloon Tong in this context, I am referring to the original garden estate that was built between the KCR railtrack (to the west) and Waterloo Road (to the east). Kowloon Tong itself seems to refer to a much larger area these days - encompassing Yau Yat Chuen and Kowloon City if you believe the real estate agents - but these places weren't developed until long after the Kowloon Tong Estate was built in the 1920's and 30's.



Believe it or not, but after a quick look at the picture(s) on Gwulo.com, it became apparent that many of these original mansion houses still exist! That's right - houses that are now approaching 80 - 90 years old (which means they are almost pre-Big Bang in HK terms) are still going strong in the "Tong". Of course only a small fraction are still used as private residences. The vast majority have already been turned into a variety of Love Motels and Kindergartens (I'm sure it won't be long before sky-rocketing rents mean one will be turned into a Love Motel/Kindergarten combination...!) but thankfully still retain enough of their original features for us to identify their heritage.

Given the age of the estate (officially one of the first developments in the so-called "New Territories"), it surprises me (or perhaps it doesn't) that despite all these near century old houses, only three seem to have made it onto the Govt�s heritage radar. These are some of the longest standing structures on this side of the harbour (ancient temples aside) and yet the Govt has only given a few of them a very poor Grade 3 listing - meaning that they're not protected from redevelopment in any way.

Anyway, rant over. The history of the estate starts proper in 1922 when it commenced construction under the auspices of a chap called Charles Montague Ede. Ede was a shipping insurance Taipan turned property developer who saw a potential for money making by building a middle class residential area in the New Territories (remember, officially everything north of Boundary Street is part of the New Territories). Ede�s contribution to the estate is remembered in two ways � first by a foundation stone on the corner of Essex Crescent and Cumberland Road (see below) and second by a road (up near Beacon Hill) named after him at a later date.

Sadly, almost before the project got anywhere it went awry in 1925 when Ede�s death coincided with the general strike. The building project stalled through lack of funds and was eventually rescued by the Govt with a little help from Sir Robert Ho Tung (Ho Tung also has a nearby road named after him next to the nearby Maryknoll School).

The original extent of the Kowloon Tong Estate

The project was eventually completed in the 1930's and the finished product was a garden estate with European-style balconied mansions with some extensive garden area (extensive for HK at least), and lucky for us we can now take a look at some of the original buildings. For starters, here is a Kindergarten on Cumberland Road that should be proud of the fact that they operate out of what looks to be a totally unmodified house.

I also suspect the front wall is also the original, although I can't confirm. Here is another good example that now operates as a Love Hotel (I think?)�

Okay, I believe this one has been modified slightly by having the upper front balcony enclosed � a perfect example of what the Govt now considers to be illegal � but what a beautiful building it is and check out the downstairs windows. Also notice the original curve in the front of the upper floor � remember this because some of the more modified houses still have them.

The next is also being used as a (rather over the top) Kindergarten. In fact if you look carefully at the second photo you will see that both houses still have their original chimney.

All they need to do is give it a sensible paint job and it would actually be nice to look at, as it is we can make out the curved front and a roof that has been replaced but is true to the original shape it was given. Look closely and you can also see the curved arches on the ground floor.

Moving on�

Above is another Love Hotel, but under the concrete you can still see the original shape more or less. It's not a bad job considering, but still not as nice as the original design. Shame about the roof though, the original sloped roof looks to have been replaced by a flat one. Below though is another one that has kept the original roof.

It seems that one of the most common modification to these old buildings is to increase a bit of internal space by closing off the front balcony. Some of these buildings are owned by some seriously rich people and still operate as private homes. A house like this would probably sell for several hundred million HK dollars in the current climate.

Here are a few that I believe are original (with a few small modifications) but which I couldn�t really get a good snap of without risking the wrath of guard dogs or big men with big turbans.

This one is actually used by a junior school.

Well hidden, but look carefully and you�ll see some original features.

The one above, #2 Devon Road, is definitely an original but the owners have had a go at removing the old central chimney and all that is left is a small bump on the roof. I haven�t seen inside any of the buildings but by the position of the chimney I�m assuming it was one central flue that connected to several fireplaces inside the main rooms.

In the picture above you can just about make out the arches on the ground floor and the upper storey columns that once formed the balcony.

The jury is out on this one above. It contains elements of the original style (ground floor arches) but has been changed quite a bit. I think the curve on the front perhaps hides the original one?

I found one of the best preserved original houses on Google�s Streetview. Here is a picture of # 4 Dorset Crescent courtesy of Streetview.

Gorgeous, right? What a fantastically well maintained original Kowloon Tong Estate mansion house. I was so excited about this that I went down there just to grab a snap of this baby. Now, bear in mind, this post is two years old so the following snap is one I took back in 2012/2013. Here�s what I found.

A picture speaks a thousand words, right? There are no words that can describe this (okay, maybe just one: empty!), so I�ll just leave it here for you to see how HK looks after its old buildings. Grrr! I walk past this plot on a regular basis, and I can tell you that since this place was knocked down in 2011/2012 nothing else has been done. Nothing. What a waste.

In an ironic and illogical twist that only seems to happen in HK, the following house is one of the ones that has gained a Grade 3 listing. Apparently it�s owned by a family called the Tai�s and they have lived here for several generations. The age is estimated to be early 1930�s but you�ll notice that � although impressive � it�s not one of the original houses.

It�s a great looking art deco building (with complementary-styled perimeter wall) but is still not as old as some of the ones I�ve already shown. So, the Govt has given this a grading and ignored a whole bunch of other older ones.

Hongkong 1a Cornwall Street, Kowloon Tong History

Hongkong 1a Cornwall Street, Kowloon Tong History

Arek Madiun   6:27 AM   Comment  

Since moving to the area a couple of years ago, I've been continuing my explorations of Kowloon Tong. I'll re-post my article on the original Kowloon Tong Estate houses sometime soon, but in the meantime here is another property that has a rather more interesting history than most.

I found out about this place a while ago whilst visiting the rather excellent Museum of Coastal Defence. One of the display boards in the main exhibition hall has/had a list of current military sites being utilised by the PLA. Rather than write down the list you can have a look for yourself because I took some snaps of the display.

Anyway, included on the second picture we can see this property in Kowloon Tong � 1a Cornwall Street. It mentions that it was the former residence of the Air Force Commander. I dig a bit of digging around and found out that this property used to have a plaque on it stating it was �Air House� and that the last Royal Airforce Commander to live here moved out in 1994 � 3 years before the Handover.

Well, it seems that this place has been standing empty for all these years and the P.L.A has never utilised it. There doesn�t even seem to be a guard on the house or outside the walls. In fact the only visible sign that this is even a military (or at least ex-military) building is the several plot markers embedded in the external wall facing the street. I took some snaps of two of them (there�s 4 or 5 in total surrounding the plot).

Yes, in HK land-plot parlance, D.L stands for �Defence Lot�. I�ve tried pumping this lot number into the Lands Dept map but even that fails me this time. Funnily enough, my 1934 map of KT lists this site as N.K.I.L 900, but it appears that the plot was split some time after with the majority of it being demarcated for military use and the remainder of the original plot number now lies behind the current house (marked below).

N.K.I.L 900

As you can see from the above plot map the older plot lies behind 1a Cornwall Street (building to the right), originally the plot took up both sites extending to Devon Road. A friendly chap called Nick got in touch and let me know that the house highlighted that still sits on the original plot number, looks to have been built (i.e. had its occupational permit issued) in August 1950 (see here).

So if we assume (I know, big assumption) that Air House was built around the same time as the property that was built up on the back of the original plot, then it looks like it may be a post-war house.

Hongkong Love Hotels in Kowloon Tong History

Hongkong Love Hotels in Kowloon Tong History

Arek Madiun   6:44 AM   Comment  

Love Hotels are a well-established phenomena that, for some reason or another, seem to be associated with a less salubrious side of life in HK. So let�s see what they�re about and dispel a popular myth.

Walk around the leafy clean streets of Kowloon Tong (I should say that Kowloon Tong is not the only place where these establishments exist, it�s just that here is where you will find the larger ones that cater for car owners) and you will see lots of nice colourful neon signs with various characters on them including these two: ??

 ?? are the characters for �hotel� (in Cantonese: Jau Dim) and they are the same ones used in the Chinese world for any hotel (for example The Peninsula Hotel is the ????, or Bun Dou Jau Dim), but in Kowloon Tong they really take on a special meaning because most (if not all) of the hotels you will find around here are hourly-rate hotels.

As you may be able to guess, these kind of places won�t give you the option of an all-inclusive breakfast (at least I don�t think so?), they are here to provide a service: to give the general public a place where they can go for a short period of time to do�erm�whatever.

These places are a product of a social climate where it was quite common (and still is in certain areas) for extended families to live together and the average size of HK's shoebox flats mean there is very little privacy. This, coupled with a society where younger people and couples are finding it increasingly hard to buy or rent a flat for themselves due to the cost and you can see why these places seem to be so popular. The latter situation is one that has become even more acute over the past few years as local property prices have literally sky-rocketed.

Up pops an establishment that will provide you complete privacy for a short period of time (say 1 or 2 hours) and you get all sorts of customers coming through the doors: whether they be married couples looking for privacy away from home, other couples with similar privacy issues, adulterers trying to keep things under wraps and, yes, even people using the rooms for the purpose of patronising the services afforded by various professionals (no, I ain�t talking about lawyers).

�Love Hotel�, as they are euphemistically known here, is a fairly sugared-up name for places that provide a venue for sex and the sheer number of them in Kowloon Tong alone � coupled with what must be huge rental prices in this part of town � indicates to me that these places must do a fairly roaring trade.

The hotels in Kowloon Tong are big � the area was traditionally the hideaway of the rich and famous with large properties sitting in fairly spacious grounds surrounded by high walls and large iron gates. Only when other parts of HK (such as 'Southside' and the Peak) became more attractive did these large houses undergo a renaissance in terms of their use - perhaps the much oft used Govt term 'adaptive reuse' is the correct term. Many properties have remained private houses but the rest have been taken over by various kindergartens and high schools, privately funded temples, wedding/bridal venues and of course the ubiquitous love hotel.

The locations are ideal, providing concealed parking spaces for the various car visitors � car ports surrounded by tarpaulin to hide the identity of the cars and registrations from prying eyes. They�re all large properties with many rooms which means good potential for income and the enclosed nature of the grounds means you aren�t going to have anyone looking through the windows to see what you�re doing.

I think it�s fairly safe to assume that the hotels are also used for purposes of prostitution, however it is a mistake to think that these places are brothels. This simply isn�t true. All these places provide is a private room for some private romping, who you take in is really up to you. Brothels, in fact, are illegal in HK (although prostitution isn�t) and I suspect that if the police got wind of these hotels acting in that capacity then they would be closed down pretty quickly.

Of course, probably the most famous love hotels in Kowloon Tong is #41 Cumberland Road. Bruce Lee fans will immediately  know this address as the former residence of the man himself. Although the fate of the place has recently been under some doubt (the owner tried to sell it in 2008 and then led the Govt on a merry dance under the pretense that he would donate it as a museum, only to then say he will sell it again because the hotel company that leases it hasn't paid rent for 2 years blah blah blah), it still seems to be going strong. 

Another of Kowloon Tong's more famous venues is the 'Romantic Hotel' (???? - see the sign below) on Kent Road. It's been featured in a few films before, but sadly since first writing this post back in 2010 it has been sold and has been turned into one of the most tacky wedding venues I have ever set my eyes on - complete with faux belfry and curved Arabian-style fake windows. Well, I say Arabian but I think they were supposed to emulate the arches of church windows. In the end the whole place looks like it cost about $5 to decorate. Stay classy, Hong Kong!!