Statue Square 皇后像廣場 | |
|---|---|
| Public Square | |
| Former name:Royal Square | |
 Statue Square in June 2008, looking south toward theHSBC building. | |
| Completion | 19th century |
| Location | Central, Hong Kong |
 Interactive map of Statue Square | |
| Statue Square | |||||||||||||
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| Traditional Chinese | 皇后像廣場 | ||||||||||||
| Simplified Chinese | 皇后像广场 | ||||||||||||
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Statue Square (Chinese:皇后像廣場; lit. "Empress' Statue Square") is a public pedestriansquare inCentral,Hong Kong. Built entirely onreclaimed land at the end of the 19th century, Statue Square consists of two parts separated byChater Road into a northern and a southern section. It is bordered byConnaught Road Central in the north and byDes Voeux Road Central in the south.
The name is a reference to the statues, mainly of British royalty, which stood on the square until theJapanese occupation of Hong Kong during World War II. Today, the only statue on the square is theone ofSir Thomas Jackson, 1st Baronet, an earlyHSBC banker.
The square was built at the end of the nineteenth century on land reclaimed by thePraya Reclamation Scheme. The idea of a square of statues dedicated to royalty was conceived by SirCatchick Paul Chater.[1] Initially named "Royal Square", it gradually became known as "Statue Square", as it originally contained thestatue of Queen Victoria,[2][3] in commemoration of the Queen'sGolden Jubilee in 1887. The statue of the Queen should have been made not in bronze but in marble, an error that was not discovered until the bronze statue was almost completed.[1][2] It was officially unveiled at the centre of the square on 28 May 1896, the day officially appointed for the celebration of the 77th birthday of the Queen.[4]
Astatue of Sir Thomas Jackson, 1st Baronet, the chief manager ofthe Hongkong and Shanghai Banking Corporation was unveiled in 1906.[5][6] Apart from Jackson's statue and the twobronze lions in front of the HSBC building, the rest of the statues were displaced to Japan to be melted by theJapanese occupiers duringWorld War II.
The Cenotaph, a replica of theCenotaph inWhitehall, London,[7] was unveiled on 24 May 1923 (Empire Day) by the Governor SirReginald Edward Stubbs. It was built on the northeastern section of Statue Square, facing theHong Kong Club Building.[8] This area is now only uncommonly referred to as part of Statue Square.
After the war, some of the statues were brought back to Hong Kong. Sir Thomas Jackson's now stands roughly in the middle of the square, facing theCourt of Final Appeal Building.Queen Victoria's statue was placed inVictoria Park,[2] and the twoHSBC lions returned to the front of the HSBC building. The bronze statue of George V, also removed by the Japanese, was lost and never replaced after the war.[2]
Since the 1980s, it has been a tradition for thousands ofFilipinadomestic workers to congregate in and around Statue Square every Sunday, their usual rest day of the week. A parallel tradition has since been developed inVictoria Park forIndonesian domestic helpers in Hong Kong.[9]
TheHSBC Hong Kong headquarters building is located along the southern side of the square, acrossDes Voeux Road Central. The site was previously occupied by the oldCity Hall (built 1869, demolished 1933) and smaller earlier generations of the HSBC Hong Kong headquarters building.
Several buildings with names reminiscent of British royalty were built on the western side of the square. Prince's Building and Queen's Building were built directly along the square (southern section and northern section respectively), while the others were built further west.
The square was initially bordered byVictoria Harbour on its northern side, but followingland reclamation, it is now separated from it byEdinburgh Place, which housedthe Star Ferry pier, among others, until 2007.
Today, the only freestanding statue on the Square is the statue of Sir Thomas Jackson. Additionally, a 2.7 m high blind-folded statue ofThemis, the Greek Goddess of Justice and Law, stands on top of the pediment of theCourt of Final Appeal Building,[10] and is facing the Square. The statues that have been historically on display on the square include:
In addition, statues of royalty and colonial administrators located outside of Statue Square included:
This location was the "Pit Stop" for the tenth episode ofThe Amazing Race 17.[24]
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22°16′52″N114°09′35″E / 22.28106°N 114.15974°E /22.28106; 114.15974