source : HK Public Library collection
Please refer to the original image as needed.
This is a photo which shows the junction of Bonham Strand and Mercer Street. This scene was a No. 4 fire alarm on 4 Mercer Street, January 1967.
For the old building on the left, there is balcony across each floor and with ornamental metal railings, which is 30 Bonham Strand. Similar construction is common and could be seen in photos of nearby streets, up to the 70s (e.g. 127-149 Wing Lok Street). This old building seems to remain through the 90s. The new building after was completed by 2007.
The Central Fire Station was just a few blocks from Bonham Strand. But the car plate of this fire engine reads : EASTERN. There were more fire engines that day. (*)
First two shops on the right (32 Bonham Strand) sold ginseng and piece goods respectively. It was a new building then but is still present today (revamped only). Mercer Street is quite short, but there have been 2 sites specified as 999-year lease. (^) A few shops did flourish into larger ones by the 70s.
(*) ISD news photos showed more of this area and from different angles (link).
(^) This small 5-way junction may have been there 140 years or above.