15 <no title>

A commercial slide, with printed caption: 15

For more information about this slide, and the other 19 slides in the box, see: https://gwulo.com/node/62629

Gwulo photo ID: NZK15

Date picture taken
1960 (year is approximate)

Comments

When I enlarged the photo, the three faintly visible characters seem to be "印製廠" or "印刷廠" which means a printing factory. The characters of the factory were written from right to left. The actual name of the factory consists of two Chinese characters, but they were covered by the structure of the swimming pool in either photo.

I did a search on Gemini. I was very much surprised by its detailed findings as below:

The company you are looking for is Wing Fat Printing Co., Ltd. (永發印刷廠). [1]
Historically, its major manufacturing plant was located at 62–80 Hing Fat Street (興發街), which runs directly along the eastern border of Victoria Park and sits right next to the Victoria Park Swimming Pool.
 
Historical Background of the Site
  • The Location: In the mid-20th century, before the complete reclamation of the Causeway Bay Typhoon Shelter to build Victoria Park, Hing Fat Street was a waterfront road.
  • Wing Fat Printing: Founded in 1913, Wing Fat grew to become one of the most prominent packaging and high-volume color printing enterprises in Hong Kong. Its multi-story factory block on Hing Fat Street was a massive landmark in the area during the mid-1900s, sitting alongside other nearby industrial mainstays like the M.Y. San Biscuit & Confectionery company (馬寶山糖果餅乾公司).
  • The Transformation: As the district transitioned from an industrial waterfront into a recreational hub (with the opening of Victoria Park and its landmark public swimming pool in 1957), factories along Hing Fat Street were gradually demolished and redeveloped into the residential blocks and commercial buildings seen today. 

Hi there,

I vaguely remember there was a candy factory near the swimming pool as well.  Someone senior uncle (not related) told me decades ago about it.  He was the manager.  The factory was sold to Garden bakery (I could not recall when).

T

Moddsey and Jimmy, thank you for working out the photo's location. I'd convinced myself the background couldn't be near Victoria Park, so it's good to have that cleared up.

Here's a map of the location, with the red dot showing roughly where the model was standing, and the blue area showing the printing works (also see new Place https://gwulo.com/node/62637).

1958 Victoria Park Swimming Pool and Wing Fat Printing Co., by Admin