Current condition
Demolished / No longer exists
Date completed
(Day & Month are approximate.)
Date closed / demolished
(Day, Month, & Year are approximate.)
26, Nathan Road, on the northeast corner of the junction of Nathan and Middle Roads.
Later place(s) at this location
Photos that show this Place
1934
1938
1930s
Comments
Far East Motors started
Far East Motors started business in February or March, 1934 (China Mail).
On industrialhistoryhk.org it is reported that the site at 26 Nathan Road was sold in the early 1950s and Far East Motors opened their new location in Wanchai in 1954.
The China Mail, 1950-08-16
The China Mail, 1950-08-16
Far East Motors granted leave to appeal to Privy Council in tenancy case.
China Mail reports that Soares-Alves Estates, the owner of the site Nathan Road 26, had an eviction order from the Tenancy Tribunal that Far East Mototors had to vacate the respective site.
The Full Court of Appeal "granted a stay of execution of the eviction order on certain terms laid down by the Court involving the paying of money to the respondents as security."
Far East Motors vacated the site anyway some time later (couldn't find anything about it in the newspapers).
It looks as though they moved
It looks as though they moved out in phases. Initially they occupied this rectangular plot:
The November 1955 1:600 map at HKMS shows the western half of their plot is empty, but the eastern half is still marked "Far East Motors". I think that matches the scene shown here:
The section of the FEM building nearest to Middle Road had also been rebuilt to add a second storey.
The November 1956 1:600 map at HKMS shows the same layout as in 1955, then the November 1961 1:600 map shows new buildings on the old FEM site, "Ambassador Arcade" and "Far East Mansion".
I've added a guess of 1957…
I've added a guess of 1957 as the demolition date, based on the Far East Mansion that was built on part of this site and opened in 1959.