I've been sent a message by a person who told me they used to live at the property that the ruin was once part of. The original address is #39 Blue Pool Road and apparently it was a large art-deco style mansion block similar to the building that currently stands at number 51 - 53. The recollection is that the ruin was once an attached garage area. They moved away in the 1970's. I wonder if the building that currently stands at #41 (called Smiley Court) was built on part of the site formerly occupied by #39. If so then the missing building was probably demolished sometime before around 1977.
80sKid:
Hi the whole site was empty for years until they built the fancy houses lining Blue Pool Road - it's unclear whether the ruin was part of that site or the one replaced by the adjacent block in the late 70s. You can see some of the original buildings here http://gwulo.com/atom/18628
Those new houses are numbered 23-39 Blue Pool Road, so I guess they're partly built on the site of the old #39.
A line of buildings is shown still standing here in the "97 Hong Kong Guide Book". On that map the northern building is marked 11, and the southern building is marked 39.
I wonder if the building on the far left of that row is 39? It seems to be the right distance along and looks similar in style to the ones at 51-53 I mentioned previously. It also looks like 51-53 is under construction in that picture (or is it the old house being demolished?) which could perhaps date it to 1952/53?
I entered the first of the line of old buildings in the early 1990s. It was very unusual in that there was a relatively wide semi-circular staircase leading to apartments at different floors - rather French or European style. I don't remember if the huge stairwell was also a semi-circular turret, indeed, I don't remember anything else. The building was already vacated and dilapidated. I don't think the line of buildings were similar. I went in with a film production crew on Location-hunting. The lhouses on the terrace were not demolished until years later, probably in the early 2000s. I should think the ruins would be garages and / or guard house.
I think #39 might be at the other end of the photo, so top-right in this crop:
Its outline from above is something like
[ ]
||
[ ]
which matches the shape on the 1997 map. Also it's position looks right compared with the Jewish Cemetery, bottom-left. Finally just right of the building, on the slope below Blue Pool Road, there's a water channel. That would match the channel we saw next to the site when we were there.
I've made a guess at 2000 as the demolition. In addition to Lawrence's comments, on Facebook Yukimura Doi wrote:
Since I am not in HK since 1994, I cannot really give you a tineframe. But I know that the villa was still occupied in the 1990s (I am born in 1970s). However I have no impression that the villa stood in 2000s (I had a lengthy stay in HK in 2005-6).
Looking at Google Earth, the earliest clear photo they have of this area is from November 2000, and the site is already cleared by then.
Comments
Extra notes:
Philk:
I've been sent a message by a person who told me they used to live at the property that the ruin was once part of. The original address is #39 Blue Pool Road and apparently it was a large art-deco style mansion block similar to the building that currently stands at number 51 - 53. The recollection is that the ruin was once an attached garage area. They moved away in the 1970's. I wonder if the building that currently stands at #41 (called Smiley Court) was built on part of the site formerly occupied by #39. If so then the missing building was probably demolished sometime before around 1977.
80sKid:
Hi the whole site was empty for years until they built the fancy houses lining Blue Pool Road - it's unclear whether the ruin was part of that site or the one replaced by the adjacent block in the late 70s. You can see some of the original buildings here http://gwulo.com/atom/18628
Those new houses are numbered 23-39 Blue Pool Road, so I guess they're partly built on the site of the old #39.
A line of buildings is shown still standing here in the "97 Hong Kong Guide Book". On that map the northern building is marked 11, and the southern building is marked 39.
Re: Probably some vehicle body shop type of stores
Hi There,
I remember when I was a kid there used to be a few small vehicle body shops operating along Blue Pool Road. maybe the ruin housed one of these.
T
#39
I wonder if the building on the far left of that row is 39? It seems to be the right distance along and looks similar in style to the ones at 51-53 I mentioned previously. It also looks like 51-53 is under construction in that picture (or is it the old house being demolished?) which could perhaps date it to 1952/53?
Ruin at Blue Pool Rd
I entered the first of the line of old buildings in the early 1990s. It was very unusual in that there was a relatively wide semi-circular staircase leading to apartments at different floors - rather French or European style. I don't remember if the huge stairwell was also a semi-circular turret, indeed, I don't remember anything else. The building was already vacated and dilapidated. I don't think the line of buildings were similar. I went in with a film production crew on Location-hunting. The lhouses on the terrace were not demolished until years later, probably in the early 2000s. I should think the ruins would be garages and / or guard house.
Photo #39
Hi Phil,
I think #39 might be at the other end of the photo, so top-right in this crop:
Its outline from above is something like
[ ]
||
[ ]
which matches the shape on the 1997 map. Also it's position looks right compared with the Jewish Cemetery, bottom-left. Finally just right of the building, on the slope below Blue Pool Road, there's a water channel. That would match the channel we saw next to the site when we were there.
What do you reckon?
Regards, David
Demolition date
I've made a guess at 2000 as the demolition. In addition to Lawrence's comments, on Facebook Yukimura Doi wrote:
Since I am not in HK since 1994, I cannot really give you a tineframe. But I know that the villa was still occupied in the 1990s (I am born in 1970s). However I have no impression that the villa stood in 2000s (I had a lengthy stay in HK in 2005-6).
Looking at Google Earth, the earliest clear photo they have of this area is from November 2000, and the site is already cleared by then.
39
Oh, i see. I had mistaken the ramp on the right for the one in front of 51 etc. Thanks for pointing it out.