Government Building sights in Hong Kong
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Central District Police Station
For years a rather dismal air of abandonment has hung over this declared but boarded-up monument, which is a former police station and jail. By the time you read this, it’s just possible that plans to repurpose and revamp the building as an art gallery, cinema, museum and boutique shopping mall will be taking physical shape. Defenders of Hong Kong’s heritage buildings are hopeful the redevelopment plans, due for completion in 2012, will ensure the site avoids the fate of many other such sites – too often they are bulldozed to make space for a modern high-rise or suffer heavily commercialised reinterpretations, such as that visited on the handsome former Marine Police HQ i…
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B
Legislative Council Building
The colonnaded and domed building on the east side of Statue Square was once the old Supreme Court. Built in 1912 of granite quarried on Stonecutters Island, it has served as the seat of the Legislative Council (LegCo) since 1985. Standing atop the pediment is a blindfolded statue of Themis, the Greek goddess of justice and natural law. During WWII it was a headquarters of the Gendarmerie, the Japanese version of the Gestapo, and many people were executed here. The only time you’ll see much going on is during periodic protests (invariably well ordered and controlled) when the council is sitting.
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