I bought this photo as a cheap & cheerful view of the old City Hall, but once it arrived and I could look at it with a magnifying glass, it’s the fountain that’s the centre of attention.
For more on that, and several other stories about this scene, please see the video below. (Or click here to watch it on Youtube).
More information about the topics in the video:
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00:30 City Hall (1st gen.)
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00:53 Dent's fountain
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03:57 Bank of China building
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Earlier photos of City Hall:
06:00 1887
06:36 1900s
06:55 1920s -
09:52 Water shortages
Comments
If I had to make an educated…
If I had to make an educated guess, the illuminations set up on scaffolding outside the City Hall would probably coincide with the Diamond Jubilee of Queen Victoria on 22nd June 1897. The hoisted umbrellas in the near noon-day sun would fit a summer scene too. Another good reason to get the ornate bone dry fountain to run.
Work in progress to confirm.
1897 City Hall
Comparisons can be made to an 1897 photo of the City Hall (minus the decorations) at the University of Bristol website: https://hpcbristol.net/visual/NA20-10 In their photo, the City Hall has been given a good coat of paint likely for the celebrations.
The trees appear to be of similar height except for the tree(s) on the left have shed their leaves (?). The lamp post is the same. However, the fountain has been turned off.
I have seen David's photo dated to 1903 which means it would have been taken earlier. If the taps of the fountain were turned on for a Jubilee or a Coronation event, I think there would be a record of it in the local press.
Dates
There is an article from the Hong Kong Historical and Social Research Society about Dent's Fountain and it's lack of water. They refer that the water was reconnected in 1929 and 1930 (as referred above) and the fountain was "ACTIVE FOR FIRST TIME IN MANY YEARS."
They don't have exact dates when the water in the fountain stopped, their estimate is between 1890 and 1897. They show a photo from 1890 with running water, and one from 1897 without. The latter is on Gwulo, and it's part of the 1897 - Sixty Diamond Jubilee Pictures gallery. So it's likely not in connection with the jubilee as "educated guess[ed]" above.