Edinburgh Place is a

public square A town square (or public square, urban square, city square or simply square), also called a plaza or piazza, is an open public space commonly found in the heart of a traditional town or city, and which is used for community gatherings. Relat ...

in Central,

Hong Kong Hong Kong)., Legally Hong Kong, China in international treaties and organizations. is a special administrative region of China. With 7.5 million residents in a territory, Hong Kong is the fourth most densely populated region in the wor ...

, adjacent to the

Victoria Harbour Victoria Harbour is a natural landform harbor, harbour in Hong Kong separating Hong Kong Island in the south from the Kowloon Peninsula to the north. It acts as both a major trading hub and tourist attraction of Hong Kong in general. Lying in ...

. The Hong Kong City Hall is located in the square. In addition, the Edinburgh Place Ferry Pier and

Queen's Pier Queen's Pier, named after Queen Victoria, was a public pier in front of City Hall in Edinburgh Place, Central, Hong Kong. For three generations it served not only as a public pier in day-to-day use but also as a major ceremonial arrival and ...

were also located in the square before they were demolished in early 2007.

History

The Edinburgh Place complex, which included the City Hall and the Memorial gardens were designed by

British British may refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * British people, nationals or natives of the United Kingdom, British Overseas Territories and Crown Dependencies. * British national identity, the characteristics of British people and culture ...

architect An architect is a person who plans, designs, and oversees the construction of buildings. To practice architecture means to provide services in connection with the design of buildings and the space within the site surrounding the buildings that h ...

s Ron Phillips and Alan Fitch in 1956 for the most important civic functions of the city. The Star Ferry Pier was designed by a local architect Hung Yip Chan (born 1921). He worked in the Architectural Office (AO) of the former Public Works Department from 1952 to 1957 as an assistant architect. He designed the facade of the pier, and the Chief Architect, Michael Wright, added the Clock Tower to make the pier more balanced. Queen's Pier, completed in 1954, was "an integral part" of the cluster: the entrance to the City Hall formed an axis with the Pier to lend a sense of occasion to visiting dignitaries. From the completion of City Hall in 1962, each arriving new

Governor A governor is an politician, administrative leader and head of a polity or Region#Political regions, political region, in some cases, such as governor-general, governors-general, as the head of a state's official representative. Depending on the ...

would land at Queen's Pier, and they would hold an inspection of the

Guard of honour A guard of honour (Commonwealth English), honor guard (American English) or ceremonial guard, is a group of people, typically drawn from the military, appointed to perform ceremonial duties – for example, to receive or guard a head of state ...

in Edinburgh Place before being sworn in nearby in the City Hall.Annexe B3
, EIA: A survey report of Historical Buildings and Structures within the Project Area of the Central Reclamation Phase III, Chan Sui San Peter for the HK Government, February 2001 The Star Ferry Pier was completed in 1957. Edinburgh Place was deliberately kept as open space in the overbuilt city, freely accessible to the public, as this was considered an essential contrast to the city bustle. Its openness meant that the square would occasionally be used as a rallying point for small marches and protests within earshot of legislators. For example, in July 1978, 2000 people rallied to demand the re-opening of the defunct Precious Blood Golden Jubilee School. Since October 1987, the

Legislative Council A legislative council is the legislature, or one of the legislative chambers, of a nation, colony, or subnational division such as a province or state. It was commonly used to label unicameral or upper house legislative bodies in the Brit ...

has banned gatherings outside the principal LegCo building.Andy Ho
Legco clamps down on violent protests
'' The Standard'', 17-Oct-1987

References

{{Coord, 22.28288, 114.16083, display=title Central, Hong Kong Squares in Hong Kong

History

See also

References