1881 Heritage – Luxury Brands & Heritage Exploration
1881 Heritage was the former headquarters of the Hong Kong Marine Police (CN: 前水警總部) from 1880s to 1996. Located near the harbour at Tsim Sha Tsui it is a very easy to visit site, and a very worthy one.
Along with the preserved heritage attractions, 1881 Heritage now houses a luxury shopping mall, restaurants, and hotel. The brands located here are some of the worlds most-renowned including Cartier, Mont Blanc, Tiffany & Co, Vacheron Constantin, Van Cleef & Arpels, Shanghai Tang, Roger Dubuis, Puyi Optical, PiageT, Mikimoto, Jaeger Le Coulture, IWC, Emporer, Chopard, Chaumet, Brequet, A. Langhe & Sohne.
Dining options at 1881
- Cafe Parlour – International fare/Gastro/Afternoon Tea – website
- Fortune Villa – Cantonese Cuisine including Dim Sum – website
- Stable – Steak and Seafood – website
- The Sergeants Bar – Bar and pub-style meals – website
- Prince Restaurant – fine Chinese – website
- Van Gogh SENSES – fine dining – website
Sight Seeing Features at 1881 Heritage
For architecture fans, the building was opened in September 1884 utilising Victorian colonial and neo-classical architectural designs. The building is packed with curiosities such as the pigeon-house which, true to its name, housed pigeons which were used to carry communications between the headquarters and ships in the harbor, the time ball tower which the maritime community used for timekeeping, and much more.
Points of Interest at 1881 Heritage
- Former Kowloon Fire Station (Main Block)
- Former Kowloon Fire Station (Accommodation Block)
- Dennis Fire Engine & Firemans Pole
- Restored Historic Tunnel
- Typhoon Gun
- Reconstructed Granite Wall
- Noon Guns and Signal Guns
- Indian Balcony
- Main Building of former Hong Kong Marine Police Headquarters
- Indian Constables Office
- Pigeon House
- Cells
- Former Stable Block
- Time Ball Tower
- Gas Lamps
- Replica Signal Mast
- Replica Typhoon Signals
- 7 Hours 46 Minutes and 12 Seconds
- Historic Tunnel Portal
You can find select sights roughly located on the map further below.
Hotel pick near the 1881 Heritage
Attractions near 1881 Heritage
- Kowloon Public Pier (九龍公眾碼頭)
- Star Ferry Pier (天星碼頭)
- Avenue of the Stars
- Hong Kong Museum of Art (香港藝術館)
- Hong Kong Space Museum (香港太空館)
- The Old Clock Tower (前九廣鐵路鐘樓)
- The Penninsula – heritage site and hotel
- Harbour City (海港城) – shopping mall
Wikipedia Says
History
The former Marine Police Headquarters was constructed in 1884. It comprises a main building, a stable block and a signal tower. It has been used by the Marine Police, except for the Japanese Occupation (1941–1945) when the compound was used as a base by the Japanese navy.
During the Japanese Occupation period, extensive underground tunnels were constructed beneath the lawn but after World War II, these tunnels were blocked and the lawn was returfed for the safety of public.
In the 1970s the compound lost a large part of its grounds, when the slope was levelled to make way for the construction of Kowloon Park Drive.
The station was colloquially referred to as T-Lands Police Station – probably a reference to Marine Police brevity code for a marine police station on “Land” at “Tsim Sha Tsui”. This name is used in at least two novels based in Hong Kong: “Soldier of Fortune” by Ernest K. Gann published in 1954. and “Dragon Flame” by Nick Carter published in 1966.
Redevelopment
The Government announced, on 23 May 2003, that Flying Snow Limited, a subsidiary of Cheung Kong Holdings, had won the 50-year land grant at a tendered price of $352.8 million from six proposals for the tender. The approval allowed the developer to preserve and redevelop the historical building into a heritage tourism facility. Flying Snow has transformed the building into a heritage hotel with food and beverage outlets, and retail facilities.
The project was the first attempt by the Tourism Commission to engage the private sector to preserve antiquities by revamping them into a tourist attraction. The project opened as 1881 Heritage in 2009.
Source: Wikipedia
Map
The Salisbury - YMCA of Hong Kong
41 Salisbury Rd, Tsim Sha Tsui, Hong Kong
