1950 Nathan Road

This is another look at the apartment building, second from lower right, where we lived after the war, at 244 Nathan Road, across from the building where the Evergreen store was located (Cambay buildings?).  The store sign in this photo seems to have a different name, from what I can make out. I couldn't find any record of when the Evergreen store opened in that location so the photo could have been taken sometime earlier.  My parents were friends of the owners of Evergreen, Tommy and Betty Young, who later opened a store on Duddell Street in Hong Kong, before retiring to Hawaii. 

I am wondering if the lower right building in this photo was Saifee Terrace (230-238), located between our building (240-246?) and Katherine Building (216-228).  I don't think our building had a name but it had two main entrances on Nathan Road. The building had two wings at the back with a connecting walkway via steps from a small entrance on Jordan Road.  Two half-covered cemented "courtyards" were attached to the two retail stores.  Each wing had balconies (with poles for drying clothes) on each floor connecting the main part of the home to the servants' quarters, backdoor and kitchen.  It was also interesting to see the 1935 photo of the two buildings at the junction of Nathan and Jordan Roads, both looking so pristine.

Moddsey, thanks for your feedback on the Evergreen store.  Its location in 1948/49 sounds feasible as I recall visiting the store with my parents and particularly enjoying the toy section.  I know the Duddell Street Evergreen store was in that location in 1971 when my mother and I stopped by to visit the owner's wife.  Thanks too for confirming the Saifee building.  I remember that building but never knew its name.

Another interesting note, I saw in the Jurors list of 1935 that Harry Ezekiel Gubbay, a friend of the Reed family, was listed as an accountant for Phoebus Neon Light Co. Ltd. and a home address of 242 Nathan Road, Kowloon. His great niece Heidi J, commented on 10/5/2022 that Ezekiel and Katie Gubbay had seven children, Harry being the youngest, born in 1911, and believed they lived on Nathan Road.  She also mentioned that her grandmother, Dorothy (Gubbay) Bull remembers living in a large house with a big veranda round it, and wondered if it could be on Nathan Road. I am curious as to whether the Gubbays might have lived in the same building that we did, prior to the war, based on the address listed in the jurors list.  The corner units of our building did have verandas that wrapped around.  The street addresses seemed to be even numbered on one side of Nathan Road and odd numbered on the opposite side.

David, thanks for creating a place location for our building.  I appreciated seeing the photos that showed this building at different times.  The two retail stores in the building were Lang's Music Store (sharing space with a vendor selling pieces of furniture) and Jones Wong and Company, specializing in Clark shoes and fine apparel.  In the 1956 photo of this location, the Clarks sign hanging above is visible if you zoom in.  At some point the Hong Kong & China Gas Company occupied the corner space as a showroom to display its products.  Later, a couple rented the small space inside the entrance by the staircase leading up to the floors on our side of the building.  They had a toddler who would greet us and follow us up the stairs for a visit.  We nicknamed her "Honey".

On my first trip back to Hong Kong in 1983 I visited the former site of our building and saw a high rise with an arcade of shops.  In walking around the arcade I noticed a couple in a shop selling shoes and handbags, and recognized them as the same couple who sold linen goods at the entrance of our building.  They remembered me after I mentioned my name after all those years!  Unfortunately, their daughter was at work so I missed seeing her.  From a map showing the area and location of our former building posted recently, I saw the name National Court.  I wonder if this was the building at the time of my visit.

Moddsey, thanks for your follow-up information on the Evergreen Store.  Due to its vicinity to our flat, we often frequented the store for purchases.  My parents became good friends with
the owners, Tommy and Betty Young who were always at the store.  Tommy invited us to The Kowloon Tong Tennis Club on Waterloo Road where he and my father enjoyed some tennis.  We also visited them at their home at the far end of Kowloon Tong.

I'm surprised there is no mention of the second Evergreen store they opened on Duddell Street (the street remained in my memory), possibly after the first Store closed.  My mother and I visited that store in the early 70s, managed by Betty.  They eventually moved to Hawaii with their young daughter Beverly.  Betty stayed in touch with my mother for some time.



 

Great that you found an ad on the second Evergreen store on Duddell street and then the one on D'Aguilar Place which I didn't know about or recalled.  Thanks for your research! I wonder how long the Nathan Road store stayed in that location.

Thanks too for the article on the hockey match and my father, much appreciated.