The demolition plan of No. 190 Nathan Road, a Grade III historical building in Tsim Sha Tsui, was approved by the Buildings Department earlier, which once again aroused public concern about the conservation issue. The Antiquities and Monuments Office suggested that the pre-war building be upgraded to Grade I historical building, but was questioned by members of the Antiquities and Antiquities Advisory Committee.
The latest document released by the AAB today (2nd) shows that after a re-examination, the review team decided to downgrade the proposed rating of 190 Nathan Road to a Grade II historic building.
In addition, the Wan Chai Fire Station is also proposed to be rated as a Grade II historic building, while the "Pang Yu Tai" tea house in Sheung Wan, the former Sha Tin Rural Committee Office and the former kindergarten schoolhouse of Ying Wa Girls' School in Mid-Levels are also proposed to be rated as a Grade III historical building.
The AAB will meet next Thursday (9th) for deliberation.
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The document refers to the latest proposal from the Antiquities Office to classify the proposal of the pre-war mansion at 190 Nathan Road, Tsim Sha Tsui as a Grade II historic building. The review team has also reviewed the proposal, that is, the previous proposal was lowered by one level, and it is still being demolished possible.
According to the information of the Antiquities Office, No. 190 Nathan Road is a 4-storey commercial building, which belongs to private property. It was built from 1932 to 1933, which means that this western-style building has stood in Tsim Sha Tsui for about 90 years.
In the early years, the Western-style building was equipped with ground floor bunks, which belonged to the building of "a bunk above the bottom" and its design was influenced by Art Deco and Neoclassicism.
However, when the AAB reviewed the proposal to upgrade No. 190 Nathan Road to a Grade I historic building at the meeting at the end of last year, the members generally had reservations about the proposal, bluntly saying that the internal structure was "unrecognizable" and
lacked authenticity, so it was sent back to the review team for re-examination.
The landmark Wanchai Fire Station is proposed to be rated as Grade II
The document also mentions that the review team has also inspected 6 other historic buildings and recommended that
the Wanchai Fire Station be classified as a Grade II historic building, and the former Sha Tin Rural Committee Office, 113 Wenham East Street, Sheung Wan, and Sai Ying Pun High Street The tenement building at No. 20 is proposed to be rated as a Grade III historic building.
According to the data, the Wanchai Fire Station, located at 435 Hennessy Road, Wanchai,
was built in 1941. It is a 4-storey building and belongs to the World War II building. It is known as the oldest existing fire station in Hong Kong. The chestnut red exterior wall and retro-style terrace design, but compared with the current standard fire station, its scale is smaller.
In addition, No. 20 High Street, Sai Ying Pun, built in 1927, was acquired by investors for 42 million yuan in 2018.
It is worth noting that the tenement building at No. 113, Wenham East Street, Sheung Wan was built in 1931 and has stood in Sheung Wan for 92 years. The ground floor is a time-
honored "Peng Yutai" tea house with a history of 130 years. It is still engaged in the wholesale and retail of Chinese tea. .
According to "Cultural Gourd" and the facebook page "Hong Kong Old Store Records", "Peng Yutai" is the only remaining historical building in the 1930s on Bonham East Street. It is rare for a tea house to exclusively occupy the entire 4-storey tenement building , the glass windows of the tea house are inlaid with European tiles from the 1930s.
In addition, the former kindergarten campus of Ying Wa Girls' School located at 76 Robinson Road, Mid-Levels is also proposed to be classified as a Grade 3 historic building.
According to the document, the school was built in 1926, and the history of the kindergarten building can be traced back to 1911. The building is one-story tall and irregularly shaped, similar to a Chinese pavilion. Its architectural style belongs to the British arts and crafts style popular in the early 20th century.
The Antiquities Office received objections when it planned to rate it Level III in 2010, but the proposal has been supported by Ying Wa Girls' School, so the AMO resubmitted the project to the AAB for consideration.
No. 190, Nathan Road, may be demolished by the Antiquities Office. A Grade I historic building is one step away from a statutory monument. Cha Kwo Ling Village will be demolished and built as a public housing. The Antiquities Office did not mention the current status and proposed to cut down the pieces for rating. The underground public toilet on Wellington Street is proposed to be rated as a Grade II historic building. It is the oldest surviving building in the first century.
