Arrowhead [1953-????]

The Nov 1953 clipping is an excellent find. Thanks.

Am I correct in assuming the clipping shows the front of the house? Is that why I do not see the large platform / terrace?  I seem to recall Elliot (William Holden) and Suyin (Jennifer Jones) had to walk up quite a few steps to reach the platform where her friends were.

I worked for Alfredo Alvares in HK. when I lived there.  Been to his house.  Yes the movie stars lived there when they made the film Love is a many Splendour Thing.  He loved to entertain.  His mentor was Frank Lloyd Wright, and the design of the house was influence by FallingWater/ Kaufmann Residence designed by Wright, except water did not flow through.  His son was also called Alfredo.

Hi art maher:

I'm doing a research on the Credit Foncier d'extreme orient (C.F.E.O.) and am interested in the history of Alfredo Alvares (the father). Do you know more about his works/ life in Hong Kong, and in relation to the C.F.E.O.? Also, how did you know Frank Lloyd Wright was his mentor? That information is very interesting. Thanks!

An auction of the house was publicized in a newspaper advert in late-1981.  The advert did not include the actual address. 

The current development on this site is comprised of four houses and the address is 34 Island Road.  It was only completed in 2002, so perhaps Mr. Alvares's Arrowhead did not see the wrecking ball until the late-1990s.  Mr. Alvares was shown in old directories as residing at 'Arrowhead, Deep Water Bay', with no mention of street name and house number.

Sometime after its use in Love is a Many-Splendored Thing, a house was constructed right next to it and the two almost look as if they share the same lot.  Both can be seen in the bottom left corner of Antoine 49's picture: http://gwulo.com/atom/21670 .  The Deep Water Bay Sewage Screening Plant is No. 30 and first structure from the left. 

I thought Arrowhead had to be No. 34 as well, until I found a late-1950s directory listing that showed otherwise.  That directory had the occupant as a Chinese merchant and the house was not referred to as Arrowhead.  

Also, I find it unlikely that Mr. Alvares sold so quickly after the 1953 completion because he was still very active in Hong Kong in the late-1950s.

I didn't save the link, but the directory only included the address and name of the occupant.

Arrowhead was definitely extended in the 1980s pictures and perhaps the house left of it (with the pool) was also owned by Mr. Alvares.  Just a wild guess on my part, but the houses look so close together and it even appears as if they share a driveway.  Maybe it was a pool house / guest house.

In 1981 the lot number of Arrowhead was R.B.L. 702 but I cannot find that lot today.

I could not recall the name in the directory, but the address was definitely 34 Island Road.  I didn't think it would be so difficult to find the address using the old lot number RBL 702.  However, I agree that it is most likely No. 34.

The satellite image from 2000 makes me wonder how two houses could have fit on that site without sharing common areas like the driveway.  The house left of Arrowhead really looked quite small.

Was the original pool from Mr. Alvares's 1953 design demolished to create the platform that elevated the property from the newly built Seaview Promenade?  If it was, I think that explains the second smaller house.

From Marco Lobo's write-up at the top of this page about 'Uncle Al' : "The large flat platform that you can see at the base of the house on the right was a swimming pool, part was open to the sky and part was under the house. As kids we could jump into the pool from the upper verandah . . ."

That platform Marco referred to is gone in http://gwulo.com/atom/13538 and http://gwulo.com/atom/21670 .  However, the pool under the smaller house that was added to the lot looked to have a very similar design.  Part of this new pool was open to the sky and part was under the house, just as it was with the original.  I bet it was possible to jump into that new pool from the house as well. 

I once saw a magazine feature of an elevated pool house (in Los Angeles) with a floor that opened to allow guests to dive directly down in the pool.

The directories often have a time lag and a misprint cannot be ruled out.  It is odd that the actual street address did not appear to have been used with that house. 

I am wondering how famous Arrowhead became after the film.  William Holden is one of my favorites, though the film is not.  Did locals, pre-internet, actually refer it to the Love is a Many-Splendored Thing villa?

88hk - have a read of this comment: http://gwulo.com/comment/28681#comment-28681

It explains why no dialogue scenes were filmed in HK.

What about the scenes on the terrace of Arrowhead or the scene where Suyin (Jennifer Jones) finds out that Elliot (Holden) had died?  The house, or perhaps it was a Hollywood soundstage set, had a series of ramps and no stairs.

Off-topic, but I just remembered that 20+ years later Jones and Holden reunited in The Towering Inferno and it was her character that died (dramatically) thanks to Holden's shoddily constructed building.  Holden's daughter had a beautiful house in that, albeit not set in Hong Kong of course.  I saw the movie in Hong Kong and to this day I think it remains the biggest cast of legendary actors/actresses ever put together for a film.
 

I read somewhere that Mr. Alvares left Hong Kong at some point and lived in the Philipines until his death in 1992.  Perhaps that is why he sold, although it appears the new owner retained the house for close to 20-years before redeveloping. 

I think Island Road might have been re-numbered in 1961.  The directory that listed a Chinese merchant's address as 34 Island Road was from before '61.  Haven't confirmed this myself, but I read from one source that what is now Aberdeen Main Road used to be named Island Road.

Perhaps Arrowhead was not No. 34 when Mr. Alvares first constructed it.

Apparently Alvares and Holden became very good buddies and Holden went on to buy the penthouse of an apartment block on RobinsonRd that Alvares had also designed. Does anyone know which building it might have been?

I have been to Arrowhead many times in the 1970's.  Indeed it was 34 Island Road.  The second house was a stylized Japanese Guest House that was 1/2 over the swimming pool.  you had to enter the house through a japanese bridge that traversed the swimming pool and mechanical water fall.  The entire set up was larger than life.  The rest of the pool was exposed to the outdoors, so we could climb up to the roof of the guest house and dive into the pool.

If you look at Google Earth and backdate to 2000. It shows 11/23/2000 and an excavated site where Arrowhead was located.

I am a motoring historian and have a record of A.V. Alvares of 34 Island Road buying a new Jaguar XK140 coupe in 1957. The car was a mid green colour. I understand it may still be in Hong Kong. Any further information about it would be gratefully received!

My mother was Mr. Alvares’s (Uncle Al to us kids) secretary. I remember he also had a huge American coupe but unfortunately I don’t remember (or never knew) what make it was. Uncle Al was a pretty flashy guy and was great friends with William Holden. Once my mother had to take Capucine shoe shopping when she visited Hong Kong with Bill Holden and for years she would tell us how the shoe salesmen would remark to her in Chinese that they had never seen such big feet on a woman before！

The flat Bill Holden owned was in the Robinson Garden Apartments at 3-3G Robinson Road (access on Conduit Road). He also owned a chunk of Commercial Radio.

Many thanks for that information, Peter.
Phil

My Grandfather Alfred V Alvares (I knew him as Dad Dad) car was a 1969 Barracuda in silver with red leather interior. He purchased it in Australia and had it shipped to Hong Kong. I knew your mother whom I used to call Aunty Violet as you know, worked for my Grandfather for many years. William Holden and Stephanie Powers used to visit him and my Grandmother, May, at their residence 20 Repulse Bay road (Brenda Anne Apartment) named after my Mother. This property is also demolished to make way for larger condominiums.

Please forgive the method of trying to make contact, I've not managed to find a link to message a member of the group directly.

I believe I might own Mr Alvares Jaguar sports car from 1957 and would like to make contact with any relatives who may remember it.

Kindest regards,

Daniel Salter.

Daniel:  I am at present finishing off a book that will include the history of the Alvares XK140 ("The Jaguar XK140 in the Southern Hemisphere" - also with Asia included).

The last owner I knew of for this car was in 1994. Would love to know more!  

Regards, John Elmgreen   www.jtpublications.com.au

Hi John, great to make contact. I'm familiar with your publications. I assumed we'd have car friends in common and have sent a message to you via Facebook.

My parents were friends of both Alfredo & May, and my sister, Lindy, was friends with their daughter, Andi.

This photo was taken in 1955 when my folks were at their house. I think Lindy and I were also invited as there is another photo of us in a sampan being taken for a ride  ;)

From L-R: My mother, Lila Parks/Pio-Ulski, Alfredo & May Alvares, other lady unknown to me!

This is the photo of me and my sister, Lindy, on the sampan heading back to the Alveres' house in Deep Water Bay in 1955!

I knew your mother very well. She and I were at school together at St. Paul's Convent. I was a frequent visitor to ArrowHead and had many happy times there and fun at Brenda's birthday parties. Your grandmother May was a great hostess and used to love to sit and chat about her early life. I too met Holden as my father at that time was in charge of the Macau Ferry the Fat Shan and they did some filming there. 

In 1956, Mr Alfedo Alvares made a special order to Jaguar Cars Ltd in England through Gilman motors in Hong Kong. He purchased a Special Equipment Jaguar XK140 FHC (fixed head coupe). 1 of a kind Jaguar to have ever reached Hong Kong from New. The car was sold at some point and remained in Hong Kong recieving various attempts to maintain the car. Eventually repatriated to England in the 1980s, the car is now being fully restored back to perfect condition and its correct colour scheme of green with tan leather.

It would be great to see a picture of the car or learn more about its early life with the Alvares family at Arrowhead.

David James Salter, Are you related to Alf Salter a stock broker in HK who was married to Eve Salter. Retired To Epsom Downs?

In the early 1990's our dear friends in Vancouver, BC introduced my family and I to Mr Alvares.  Mr Alvares was a gracious, old-school gentleman with exquisite taste.  Dring visits to his beautiful home he would tell us fascinating stories about Arrowhead in Macao and the "Hollywood set" he met during the filming of "Love is a Many-Splendored Thing".   Later, he and William Holden became good friends.  Mr. Alvares always credited his late wife, May, with being a fantastic hostess.

I remember Al explaining that he designed Arrowhead with no stairs--only ramps to get to other levels of the house.  This was because as a child he hated having to climb stairs to go to his bedroom at bedtime!  Mr Alvares died in Vancouver in the early 90's.  He was a well-loved, kind, impressive man and we cherish his memory.

BTW-- Thanks everyone for this comment thread.  It's wonderful to see the photos and read more about Mr Alvares, etc after nearly 30 years!