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Great George Street (Chinese: 記利佐治街) is astreet in the busiest shopping area ofCauseway Bay onHong Kong Island inHong Kong. It was in the area formerly known asEast Point. Starting west at the great junction withEast Point Road,Hennessy Road,Yee Wo Street, and also further junction withJardine's Bazaar andJardine's Crescent, the street runs east to the junction withGloucester Road, leading from Exit E ofMTRCauseway Bay Station toVictoria Park, crossingPaterson Street in the middle, forming a busy shopping street crowding with people in weekends and holidays, especially when events are held in Victoria Park. To alleviate the crowded situation, the street became pedestrian-orientated, either by converting to part-timepedestrian street or exercisingtraffic calming measure.[1]
Major buildings in the area includeSogo Causeway Bay, a Japanese-style department store,Island Beverley, a shopping centre,Hong Kong Mansion, a residential/commercial building with a shopping centre,Great George Building, once hostingDaimaru department store and now a shopping mallFashion Walk,Pearl City Mansion, with a cinemaMCL JP[2]and supermarketsWellcome[3]andDon Don Donki,[4]Parklane Hotel, with anIKEA store[5],Hang Lung Centre, a shopping centre, andWindsor House, a large multi-storey shopping mall withGrand Windsor Cinema.[6]
The street possibly got its name from a street with the same name,Great George Street, inWestminster ofLondon. In 1750, this London street was built to connectWestminster Bridge and the west by demolishing buildings and streets in George Yard, which named after George Inn.[7][8] Another source also attributed to the KingGeorge II of Great Britain, who reigned between 1683 and 1760. A side street,Little George Street, was built on the site of George Yard at the same time.[8]
TheCantonese name 記利佐治街, /kej li tsɔ tsi kɐj/, does not mean anything that 記利佐治, /kej li tsɔ tsi/, is a phonetic transcription of English "Great George", /ɡreɪt dʒɔːdʒ/, in Cantonese and 街, /kɐj/, simply means street.
The street was built on the reclamation of Causeway Bay, east of headland of East Point, where the landlord wasJardine, Matheson & Company. The street was shown in the Plan of Victoria, Hong Kong,1866.[9] The north of it became mint and latersugar refinery, and south ice works. Great George Street as street name appeared in the Plan of the City of Victoria, Hong Kong, 1889.[10] The place remained port and industrial use until 1960s. By this period, the street gradually converted to mixed use of residential and commercial.
The triangular area, where Hong Kong Mansion situating, between Great George Street, Yee Wo Street and Paterson's Street was once known asEast Point Terrace, a residential block. It first occupied by the staff work inChina Sugar Refinery, recorded in the Sessional Papers for the Year 1922.[11] In 1947, the government bought the terrace for accommodation ofpolice inspectors,[12][13] later was known asEast Point Terrace Police Quarters.[14] The land was finally sold and rebuilt as Hong Kong Mansion in 1966.[15][16]
In October 2008, an environmental organisation, Friends of the Earth, Hong Kong, released a result of online election about the "light pollution" emitted from the commercial building,Windsor House, in this street. They found the intensity of the light is 10,000 lux, equivalent to the brightness of daylight.[17]
Media related toGreat George Street, Hong Kong at Wikimedia Commons22°16′50″N114°11′08″E / 22.28051°N 114.18553°E /22.28051; 114.18553
