For details see Hongkong Ice Company, Ltd.
In about 1874, the factory started ice production with its first machine at Causeway Bay (Great George Street at the praya). The company was sold to Messrs. Jardine, Matheson & Co in 1879.
I am putting together a list of past industrial sites (and some present ones) in Hong Kong, with links to the relevant Gwulo pages (or if there is no dedicated Gwulo page for them yet, Public Works Department Annual Reports). There is already a very comprehensive list on the Industrial History of Hong Kong website - my list is just trying to group together relevant Gwulo pages and PWD sources. For now, I have not included sites such as godowns, wharves, piers, electricity substations, etc as they are so numerous that it would be a time-consuming task.
I have always been interested in this building when I used to study in Kwai Chung. There is very limited information about the building online although it is believed to be completed in 1975. The Bauhaus and Art Deco style design that was unique to find in Kwai Chung factory district makes it stand out from all the others. I am hoping to write an essay on it and trace back its architectural/ social origin, hopefully to have more people appreciate its modernist design.
This old archway is gradually being enveloped by the trees, but the red Chinese characters are still visible across the top:
The factory was completed in 1908 (see point 35 of the PWD Annual Report for 1908: "A Cigar Factory on K.I.L. 1203, Yaumati, was completed.")
The site is shown on the 1920 map, labeled "The Orient Tobacco Factory".
The 1941 Juror's List uses the "Manufactory" name, and lists several staff:
Section 45 of the 1912 PWD Annual report says:
Messrs. A. S. Watson & Co.’s new Aerated Water Factory on M.L. 293, North Point, was completed.
