1897 Queen's Road C

Thu, 08/10/2023 - 03:36

See the original photo on Flickr. 

Queen's Road Central with the Exchange Building / Court House on the left and W. Powell (28 QRC) on the right.

Update: Shows Powell & Co. at 50-52 Queen's Road Central (Victoria Exchange). On the left is 37 QRC. Pedder Street Clock Tower is in the back, but invisible because of the trees.

Date picture taken
1 Jun 1897 (day is approximate)
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The original photo can be be viewed here on MMIS. The caption reads:

 Queen's Road Central, Hong Kong Island, Diamond Jubilee of Queen Victoria's Reign celebrated in Hong Kong, June 1897.
Queen's Road is dressed with flags and decorations for the occasion. the Clock Tower, at the top of Pedder Street, is barely visible through the vegetation on the left. In the foreground are the columns of the Land Office and further the Supreme Court. On the right, a large and popular firm of William Powell & Co., the drapers and furnishers. Hong Kong celebrated the Jubilee by a number of festive events and new public projects.

Hi David, your concerns about the location are justified. I was sure that we see 28 QRC, especially after reading the caption shown on MMIS.  I now think that the description is incorrect. 

1. The location of Powell & Co. in 1897 is very likely 50-52 Queen's Road Central (Victoria Exchange)

W. Powell & Co. 1889
W. Powell & Co. 1889, by Klaus

 

 2. The statement "In the foreground are the columns of the Land Office and further the Supreme Court" is incorrect.  We see 35 Queen's Road Central with square columns, the one's of the Supreme Court are round.

1920s Queen's Road Central
1920s Queen's Road Central, by moddsey

 

Final conclusion: the location of Tak Cheong Taliors was 50-52 QRC, indeed.

 

Hi David, thank you. Actually, it was much more work than expected, but I don't like discrepancies - and there was one in my original post. After your remark about the number of the building, I had a closer look at the photo. The building on the left (originally thought it was the Court House) has square columns, but the Court House has round ones. So the investigation started.