Alexandra House c late 1960's. This 2nd generation of Alexandra House was completed in 1956. The Royal building behind it was demolished and a new extension was built to Alexandra House. Prince's Building is seen at the back and the Chartered Bank Building on the right.
Date picture taken
unknown
Shows place(s)
Comments
Alexandra House
Alexandra House was home to the American Club in the 70s. It was in its library I was introduced to Ken Kesey's "The Electric Kool-Aid Acid Test" and Tom Wolfe's "Radical Chic & Mau-Mauing the Flak Catchers".
Ah, but I was so much older then, I'm younger than that now.
The footbridge between the…
The footbridge between the Mandarin Oriental Hotel and Prince's building indicate the photo was taken 1965 or later.
The bicoloured van parked on Chater Road facing away from us on the left-hand side of the photo?
Zoom in and you can see a distinct lion logo at the rear of the van. It's London's own Booth's Gin. I'd hazard a guess that the left-hand side of the van is probably emblazoned with "Johnnie Walker" if you get my drift.
In 1966 the lion logo of the brand was a different design
The red lion logo seen in the photo was established by the late 1960s and early 1970s
The earliest example of the same red lion logo I can find is dated 1968.
There are also Christmas decorations in both streets, Chater Road and Des Voeux Road Central in the photo. This makes the photo - if taken in the late 1960s - dated either December 1968 or December 1969. By the time the London logo brand had filtered down to a lowly van in the streets of Hong Kong, I'd guess this photo was more likely taken in about December 1969, because even the 1968 logo is close but no cigar.
There is scaffolding in front of the Standard Chartered Bank - that might clinch the date. Work in progress.