Statue Square

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

The HSBC banker, Sir Thomas Jackson, 1st Baronet 1841-1915
The HSBC banker, Sir Thomas Jackson, 1st Baronet 1841-1915
Statue Square is located on Chater Road. Pictured to the left is The Cenotaph.
Statue Square is located on Chater Road. Pictured to the left is The Cenotaph.

Statue Square (traditional Chinese: 皇后像廣場) is a public pedestrian square in Central, Hong Kong.

Contents

[edit] History

The square was built at the end of the 19th century. It derives its name from the fact that it originally contained the statue of Queen Victoria, as the square's name in Chinese testifies[1]. Statues of Prince Albert, Edward VII were added between 1876 and 1902[2]. The statue of Victoria was ordered to commemorate the Golden Jubilee of the monarch in 1887[1]. A statue of Sir Thomas Jackson, the chief manager of the Hongkong and Shanghai Banking Corporation was unveiled on February 24, 1906[3]. These statues (except for the statue of Jackson), together with the two bronze lions in front of the HSBC building, were displaced to Japan to be melted by the occupying Japanese during World War II.

After the war the statues were brought back to Hong Kong. Sir Thomas Jackson's now stands roughly in the middle of the square, facing the Former Supreme Court Building. Queen Victoria's statue was placed in Victoria Park[1]. The two lions are now again in front of the Hang Sang Bank Corporation building. The bronze statue of George V, also removed by the Japanese, was lost and never replaced after the war[1].

Since the 1980s, there has been a tradition for thousands of Filipina domestic workers to congregate in and around Statue Square every Sunday (their usual rest day of the week). A parallel tradition has since been developed in Victoria Park for Indonesian domestic servants in Hong Kong.

[edit] Surrounding buildings

The HSBC Hong Kong headquarters building is located along its southern side. It stands at the location of the old City Hall (built 1869, demolished 1933). The Former Supreme Court Building, now housing the Legislative Council is located along the eastern side of the square. Prince's Building is located along the western side of the square.

The square was initially bordered by Victoria Harbour on its northern side, but following land reclamation, it is now separated from it by Edinburgh Place, which houses the Star Ferry pier, among others.

[edit] Gallery

Statue Square

Statue Square is an ideal rendezvous for Filipino maids in Hong Kong on Sundays.

Statue Square water fountains

[edit] See also

Wikimedia Commons has media related to:

[edit] External links

[edit] References

  1. ^ a b c d Jason Wordie, The square that put an old queen in her place, The Standard, May 2, 1999
  2. ^ Wiltshire, Trea. [First published 1987] (republished & reduced2003). Old Hong Kong - Volume One. Central, Hong Kong: Text Form Asia books Ltd. Page 8. ISBN Volume One 962-7283-59-2
  3. ^ Clarke, David James. [2002](2001) Reaktion BookS LTD. Hong Kong Art-CL: culture and decolonization. ISBN ISBN 0822329204
Languages