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The Knights of Pythias was a fraternal service organization with lodges across the United States. The Silver Plume KP building, as it is called now, was built in 1874. It has housed a number of enterprises over the years, including a coffee bar. The upstairs is a residence. Second photo shows the dog in the window.
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The Knights of Pythias was a fraternal service organization with lodges across the United States. The Silver Plume KP building, as it is called now, was built in 1874. It has housed a number of enterprises over the years, including a coffee bar. The upstairs is a residence. Second photo shows the dog in the window.
A small stable off a corral at the Empire Ranch historic site in southern Arizona. The ranch dates from the 1870's. I don't know the date of the stable
An old bathtub in one of the bathrooms at the Empire Ranch Historic Site in Pima County, Arizona. The ranch dates from 1871, the bathtub does not.
In 1910, the renowned German architect, Georg de Lalande, designed and erected this house in Shinjuku Ward, Tokyo, Japan. De Lalande contributed significantly to architectural projects across Japan's prominent port cities, spanning from Yokohama and Tokyo to Kyoto, Osaka, Kobe, and even Korea. His distinctive style embraced Jugendstil architecture, a variant of Art Nouveau that gained popularity in the late 19th and early 20th centuries.
This is the post-World War II residence of Mitsui Hachiroemon Takami, the head of the ten Mitsui clans that left their name in modern Japanese history as the Mitsui Zaibatsu. The mansion on a vast site in Imai-cho, which had been the main residence since 1906, was destroyed by fire during the war, so a new main residence was built in Azabu-cho in 1952.
Erected in 1937 within the Tokiwadai residential neighborhood of Itabashi Ward, Tokyo, near the former Musashi-Tokiwa Station (now Tokiwadai Station) on the Tobu-Tojo Line, the Tokiwadai Photo Studio stands as a rare example to the vision that architects and city planners held for Tokyo's rebirth following the Great Kanto Earthquake of 1923.
The Tokyo National Museum stands as Japan’s oldest museum, a cultural beacon nestled in the serene Ueno Park. The main building, Honkan, is a masterpiece of Imperial Crown Style architecture, designed by architect Jin Watanabe and completed in 1938. Its blend of traditional Japanese design elements and Western Neoclassical influence reflects the era’s vision of modern Japan rooted in tradition. The symmetry of its tiled roof and imposing stone facade invites visitors into a curated journey through Japan’s rich history.
Adjacent is the Hyokeikan, a fine example of Meiji-era Western-style architecture, originally built in 1909 to commemorate the Taisho Crown Prince's wedding. Its copper-green domes and Corinthian columns, evident in the photo, create a striking contrast against the blue skies, making it a favorite spot for photography enthusiasts. This day captured a particularly memorable event—the opening of Hello Kitty’s 50th Anniversary exhibition. The festive atmosphere, marked by a sea of visitors with colorful umbrellas, highlighted the museum’s dynamic role in merging Japan’s traditional and contemporary culture.
Stepping inside the museum, you’ll find world-class exhibits ranging from samurai armor and Buddhist sculptures to exquisite ceramics and ukiyo-e woodblock prints. Its grounds feature tranquil gardens and a pond that mirrors the architectural beauty of the buildings. A visit to the Tokyo National Museum offers not only an immersion into Japan’s artistic and historical treasures but also a vivid glimpse into its evolving cultural narrative.
Cnr Hankow Rd & Kiangse Rd, International Settlement.
Built in the Gothic Revival style, this striking red brick church was the Anglican place of worship for Shanghai's British community and along with the nearby Shanghai Club and the Shanghai Race Club formed the 'holy trinity' of British social life in the city.
Whilst not officially part of the British Empire, the British dominated Shanghai's trade, government through the Municipal Council and were protected by garrisoned troops and Royal Navy gunboats. Reflecting the lofty ideals of the church trustees, the plans for this church were prepared by the prolific George Gilbert Scott, one of Britain's foremost architects of the Gothic Revival style; he was responsible, inter alia, for St Pancras Station and St Mary's Cathedral in Edinburgh. Scott's original plans, however, were to fall foul of the same church trustees as being too costly and they commissioned Shanghai-based architect William Kidner to modify Scott's plans.
The church was open for worship on 1 August 1869 and was quickly known as the "Red Church" by the locals. Church services were held on Sundays at 11am and 6pm with Holy Communion taken at 8am. Westminster chimes once sounded from the freestanding bell tower which was raised in 1893.
According to Macmillan's "Seaports of the Far East" (1907), "the services are elaborately choral, and eminently calculated to appeal to the aesthetically sensuous type of religious mind, a type of religious character which is prevalent in, and apparently fostered by, the life of languorous and voluptuous ease which many Europeans live in tropical or subtropical lands."
Like many western buildings in China, the twin calamities of the Japanese Occupation during WWII and the coming to power of the Communists shortly thereafter spelt doom for this building. After decades of abandonment, neglect and architectural vandalism during the Cultural Revolution, the cathedral is now completing its painstaking renovation although it remains closed to the public. The photo captures some of the exquisite detailing of the architecture including the use of polychrome bricks and the rebuilt spire which had been smashed by Mao's Red Guards.
Victoria Rd, British Concession.
This handsome Edwardian brick commercial building is a bit of a mystery but I believe that I have cracked its history. It features on many old Tientsin photos as it is adjacent to the popular Astor House Hotel (see my photo at www.flickr.com/photos/23268776@N03/5223323583) and directly opposite Gordon Hall, the centre of British life in the city. Fellow flickrite China Postcard has such a photo at www.flickr.com/photos/china-postcard/3435052361 .
Given its immediate proximity to the hotel, my conclusion is that it is the premises of Hirsbrunner & Co, General Storekeepers, Tailors and Gentlemen's Complete Outfitters, Watchmakers and Jewellers, Wine and Provision Merchants. Both the 1908 "China Times Guide to Tientsin" (by Mrs Burton St John) and the 1907 "Astor House Hotel's Guide to Tientsin" carry advertisements for the company with the caption, "Next to Astor House Hotel". Amongst other things that the company handled were:-
"Portmanteaus, Hand-bags, Courier-bags, Steel-Trunks, Despatch-Boxes, Cash-Boxes, Binoculars, Gold, Silver and Nickel Spectacles, Pince-nez, Sun and Dust Spectacles, Gold and Silver Jewellery, Watches, Bracelets, Rings, Brooches, Charms and Chains, Dress Shirts, Collars and Ties, Hats, Caps, Panamas and Straw Hats in Great Variety, Gloves, Socks, Handerkerchiefs, Braces, Belts, Garters, Suspenders, Clips, Sleeves, Links and Studs, Underclothing for all Seasons, Cigar and Cigarette Cases in Great Variety, Card Cases, bags and Tobacco Pouches."
Hirsbrunner & Co had started business in the 1870s in Canton and had later opened branches in Hong Kong, Shanghai and Tientsin. It was the China agent for a plethora of European manufacturers including those selling wines and spirits. An earlier advertisement in 1904 had given its Tientsin address as Rue de France and Rue du Consulat in the French Concession so I am dating the building 1907 when it first appears in the 1907 "Astor House Hotel's Guide to Tientsin".
Quai de France, French Concession.
France acquired its Concession in Hankow in 1896 and initially French business interests centred on the construction of the Peking to Hankow railway line (753 miles) which was opened on 14 November 1905. In fact, the railway line was the product of Franco-Belgian industrial, construction and financial co-operation under the auspices of the "Société d'Étude de Chemins de Fer en Chine".
The Hankow branch of the Banque de l'Indo-Chine was opened in 1902; based in Paris, the Banque functioned as France's colonial banker throughout French possessions in Asia; originally French territories in Tonkin, Cochinchine and Annam and from the 1890s it financed French commercial interests in China, primarily at Hong Kong, Canton, Shanghai and Tientsin.
This fine polychrome brick building is in the colonial "compradore" style of verandahs and arcades, typical of the style at the turn of the century. An early photograph reveals that the verandahs were not open to the elements and were indeed glassed in as they appear in the photo above. The French tricoleur flew proudly over the central parapet.
The Bund, British Concession.
The Chinese Imperial Maritime Customs, later known as the Chinese Maritime Customs Service in 1912, was established in 1854. It was the only department in the Chinese Government organised on Western lines; it was staffed at the middle and senior level by predominantly British officers. As well as administering customs and excise collections, the Customs Service managed Chinese vast rivers, waterways and coastal harbours. It conducted anti-smuggling measures and policed the entire China coast at a time when China had no navy. It mapped out the coast and inland waterways including the mighty Yangtsze and assisted in postal administration and weather reporting. It established quarantine regulations to prevent the spread of sickness and was involved in financial matters.
Occupying a prominent position overlooking the Yangtsze River and at the southernmost end of the British Bund, this handsome structure remains a Hankow landmark. The design of the building went to competition and was awarded to the Shanghai-based British architects Messrs Stewardson & Spence, who also designed Shanghai's Head Post Office (see my photo at www.flickr.com/photos/23268776@N03/10514297295 ). The building continues to dominate the riverfront; with its 46m high clock tower, Henan granite columns and roughly-hewn rustication, this reinforced concrete building presents a powerful statement of dependability; the clock itself and the accompanying chimes kept time for the busy river port and city. The clock was manufactured by the Seth Thomas Clock Company of Thomaston, Connecticut.
It is not difficult to imagine CMCS officers standing on the balconies looking out at the mercantile traffic on the river. For a remarkable photo taken in 1931, go to fellow flickrite China Postcard at www.flickr.com/photos/36135997@N02/9783252664 .
The foundation stone was laid on 4 November 1922 by Sir Francis Aglen KBE, the then Inspector General of Customs. Lady Aglen placed a casket containing local newspapers and coins under the foundation stone in a ceremony attended by a large and distinguished assembly of both Chinese and foreign dignitaries.
Other CMCS Custom Houses were built in:-
Canton (1914) - see my photo at www.flickr.com/photos/23268776@N03/2977776677
Shanghai (1927) - see my photo at www.flickr.com/photos/23268776@N03/2857775885
Tientsin (1932) - see my photo at www.flickr.com/photos/23268776@N03/5384642838
Av Roi Albert, French Concession.
This extraordinary garden mansion was the residence of tycoon Eric Möller whose business empire included real estate, ship-building and insurance. Built in a style reminiscent of a Scandinavian fantasy castle, it features dormer windows, witch's hat turrets and half-timbered gables. The interior also features a very Nordic use of heavy wood and to add to the confusion, nautical detailing. No doubt these features reflected Möller's Swedish heritage and his shipping line. Designed by the Shanghai-based Allied Architects in 1926, the mansion took ten years to complete due to the owner's ever-changing requirements. Once completed, it is said to boast 106 rooms.
Given China's post-WWII turbulence, Moller departed Shanghai in the late 1940s, never to return; he died in an air crash in Singapore in 1950. By then, the house had been requisitioned by the Communist Youth League as its headquarters ('all men are equal, some are more equal than others') and would remain so until 2002 when it was opened as the Moller Villa Hotel.
The Bund, British Concession.
The Hongkong & Shanghai Banking Corporation was formed in Hong Kong in 1865 by a group of China-based British colonials who were keen to apply their local knowledge and experience to the opening China trade. The Hankow branch was one of the first to be opened outside the main banking centres of Hong Kong and Shanghai. By the 1920's the 'Hongkers & Shankers' was the premier bank of the East with branches established at Amoy (Xiamen), Bangkok, Batavia (Jakarta), Bombay, Calcutta, Colombo, Ipoh, Kobe, Kuala Lumpur, Manila, Nagasaki, Peking, Penang, Rangoon, Saigon, Shanghai, Singapore, Tientsin (Tianjin) and Yokohama.
Whilst not as large as the Bank's Head Office in Shanghai (built in 1923 - see my photo at www.flickr.com/photos/23268776@N03/2330314221 ), the Hankow branch performed the same function by dominating the Bund along the British Concession; the solidity of the architecture confirming the status of the bank and embodying British financial power in China. The architects were the locally based British firm of Messrs Hemmings & Berkley.
The bank building can be seen on the reverse side of a $100 bank note issued in 1921 by the bank at:- 2.bp.blogspot.com/-L-gWijv119w/U-4ZQoyQekI/AAAAAAAACEA/Ig... . It is also seen in a 1928 photo taken from HMS Durban at a time when the bank had been abandoned following the Hankow Riots in 1927. The bank is to the right with its competitor the National City Bank of New York to the left - www.naval-history.net/ww1z08China42a.JPG .
The interior retains its ornate marble floored banking hall. I was very surprised to see a long forgotten war memorial (Roll of Honour) to those HSBC staff who fell (or served) in the First World War still there; it features the British coat-of-arms (lion & unicorn) in marble above the corporate logo of the bank (scene of Hong Kong harbour). The three brass plaques bearing the names of the bank staff are no longer there. How such a British memorial survived the Hankow Riots, Cultural Revolution and decades of Communist neglect is anyone's guess.
The building continues to be used for its original purpose by the China Everbright Bank (中 國 光 大 銀 行 股 份 有 限 公 司).
Foochow Rd, Shanghai.
Being a cosmopolitan city, whilst the various nationalities mixed in business and in pleasure, each had their own sanctuaries where they could be amongst their own; the British predominated at the stuffy Shanghai Club (see my photo at www.flickr.com/photos/23268776@N03/2330535577 ), the Germans had their Club Concordia (until it was confiscated during WWI) and the French had their Cercle Sportif Francais. However, it was not until the early WWI years that the Americans, whilst still neutral, established their own club due to a growing distrust by their British cousins of the United States' neutrality and isolationism in that conflict.
In a conscious attempt to evoke America's own architectural heritage, this handsome club building was designed in the Georgian Revival style which harked back to American colonial architecture of the Thirteen Colonies. The bricks were imported from the USA. Whilst the architectural firm of RA Curry was indeed American, the design was drawn up by the prolific Hungarian, Ladislav Hudec who designed many of Shanghai's most memorable buildings from 1919 to 1945. The club provided a bar, two dining rooms, a library and writing room, rooms for billiards, cards and mahjong, a bowling alley in the basement and 50 bachelor bedrooms. According to a Fortune magazine profile of Shanghai in 1935, the club contrasted with the "gloomy Shanghai Club whose furniture is heavy and sedate" while "the red-brick American Club is bright with American maple and Colonial furniture, its lobby faintly reminiscent of a well-decorated hospital. It is full of eager, smiling men who take you by the hand, whether they have met you or not. And the bar is packed."
An article in 1935 edition of the Shanghai Evening Post & Mercury described the club thus:-
"No institution in Shanghai plays a greater or more important role in the social life of Americans than does the American Club... It is more than just a club; it is a meeting place for American businessmen and their friends; it is a social rendezvous; it is equipped with a fine library, a comfortable bar, residential rooms, a large dining room and small private dining rooms; it boasts excellent American-style cuisine, and it is in every respect an institution of which the officers and members have a reason to be proud."
For all its Yankee bonhomie and boisterousness, the American Club did not admit women - except the annual Ladies' Night and during events like balls - nor African Americans. However in the late 1930s, it did open its doors to membership by American-educated Chinese or those with strong business connections to the US.
To view a photograph of the American Club taken in the post-WWII years, complete with expectant rickshaw coolie, go to the flickr site of ljchan0522 at www.flickr.com/photos/10232046@N00/4745420788/
The building is currently lying empty, presumably waiting for a new owner and a new lease on life.
Hankow Rd, International Settlement.
Raised in the grounds of the adjacent Holy Trinity Cathedral (see my photo at www.flickr.com/photos/23268776@N03/13604654953/ ), this handsome brown brick manse accommodated the residence and offices of the Dean, the most senior Anglican clergyman in Shanghai. I would also imagine that the Deanery provided accommodation for visiting senior Anglican clergy from overseas or on retreat from the Chinese interior. The number of chimneys give an indication of the number of rooms (as well as Shanghai's brutal winters) and it would have provided the backdrop for many Church-based social occasions, wedding receptions and tea parties.
It was built at the same time as the Cathedral School (see my photo at www.flickr.com/photos/23268776@N03/13604634305/ ) located directly across the lawn and it uses the same brown bricks and rendered quoining. The architects were the local-based firm of Messrs Palmer & Turner.
It is now the Bund Garden Hotel, one of Shanghai's best-kept secrets; a gem of a small boutique hotel with period furnishings, mantelpieces and interiors; it is a world away from the identical, modern branding corporate hotels. The staff don't speak English, there's no international buffet breakfast, no membership privileges, no lift, no fawning service (rather an awkward grin if one disturbs the staff playing on their phones). But the historic building still provides an oasis of calm, just a short walk away from the Bund and Nanjing Road.
Cnr Tung Ting Rd & Wah Cheong Rd, British Concession.
The Chartered Bank of India, Australia & China was one of the great British colonial bankers in Asia and was founded by the granting of its Royal Charter in 1853. With its head office at Threadneedle Street in London, the bank opened its first branches in Bombay and Calcutta in 1857. It later opened branches in Shanghai (1857) and Hong Kong and went on to play an important role in both Indian and Chinese banking during the days of the British Empire.
A year after the British concession at Hankow was granted in 1862, a branch of the Chartered Bank of India, Australia & China was opened, making it the earliest Western bank in the city. The bank building, however, was not situated prominently on the Bund, as one might have expected, but it is tucked away in a parallel street within the British Concession. The reason for this anomaly may be that prior to the construction of the bund wall or dyke, those properties closest to the Yangtsze River were at the mercy of the frequent annual floods. Massive bunding construction took place in all the foreign concessions in the late 1890s and early 1900s, raising the level of the ground. Once the bunding had been completed, later arrivals like the foreign competitor banks (like the Hongkong & Shanghai Bank, le Banque de L'Indochine, the Yokohama Specie Bank and the National City Bank of New York) all chose to site their grand bank buildings along the Bund, eclipsing the more modest premises of the Chartered Bank.
The bank building, however modest it may have been, featured on the reverse side of banknotes issued by the bank in 1924 for circulation in Hankow; examples of these banknotes can be seen at:-
images.goldbergauctions.com/php/lot_auc.php?site=1&sa...
english.cguardian.com/categories/coins/2013-11-29/141516....
Cnr Poyang Rd & Pao Shun Rd, British Concession.
Being the centre of the Chinese black tea trade, Hankow attracted Russian tea traders who set up factories in the early 1860s to manufacture 'brick tea' - made from tea dust. Three of the four brick tea factories in Hankow were owned by Russian businesses, like Messrs SW Litvinoff & Co (known locally as Shun Fung), Messrs Tokmakoff, Molotkoff & Co (known locally as Hsin-Tai) and Messrs Molchanoff, Pechanoff & Co (known as 'Fu Cheong'). Shipments from Hankow went by steamers directly to Odessa and St Petersburg or were transported overland on the Tea Road via Mongolia and Siberia to Moscow. Russians also dominated the trade in skins, hides and pig bristles and they were the largest group of foreign residents in Hankow. Relations between the hard-drinking Russians and the more conservative British were not always so cordial if too much had been drunk and the conversation veered from mere business to politics.
To cater to the spiritual needs of the Russian residents, there has been a Russian church in Hankow since 1884. To celebrate the 25th anniversary of Tokmakoff, Molotkoff & Co's tea factory in Hankow, the Russian mercantile community in Hankow received a visit from Tsaravich Nicholas (who would become the doomed last Tsar) in 1891. He promised to support the building of a new Russian Orthodox church in Hankow and after funds were raised through donations, this handsome Russian Orthodox Church was raised in 1893 within the British Concession, three years before the establishment of a Russian Concession, a mere stone's throw away. It is built in the Byzantine style. To view a photograph of this church from those Treaty Port times, go to www.orthodox.cn/images/hankou2.jpg .
After the Russian Revolution, like other ports and cities in China, Hankow received its fair share of White Russian refugees; often penniless and homeless, the Church provided shelter for these new arrivals. In the 1930's, Christopher Isherwood in his book “Journey to a War”, caustically noted of the Russians seen by him in China: “You see two or three of them behind nearly every bar — a fat, defeated tribe who lead a melancholy indoor life of gossip, mahjongg, drink and bridge.”
The church was undergoing restoration at the time of my photo (November 2013). It had been a rather garish pastel colour (see fellow flickrite Issac Wang's shot at www.flickr.com/photos/29856669@N02/3793274428 ) and I am informed that the local authorities would like to restore it to its former glory. Fingers crossed.
Kiukiang Rd, Intl Settlement.
Whilst the children of many British residents in Shanghai were educated in boarding schools at 'Home', many others had neither the means nor the inclination to send their children abroad. A British school for boys had been opened in Shanghai in 1868 and the Cathedral School traces its origins to those times. Catering originally to British boys of the Anglican faith resident in Shanghai (or boarders from the interior), this was certainly not a mission school for converted Chinese Christians.
As Shanghai flourished after the end of WWI, Western expatriates flocked to take advantage of the business opportunities on offer. To cater for the growing numbers of expatriates who required schooling in Shanghai, the Cathedral School was reconstructed thanks to the generosity of the legacy of the Henry Lester Endowment.
The corner stone (still visible to this day - see the photo of fellow flickrite Tai Pan of HK at www.flickr.com/photos/thetaipanofhongkong/5737801968) was laid on 19 December 1928 by the then British Acting Consul-General Charles Fortescue Garstin CBE in the presence of the Dean of Holy Trinity Cathedral, the Very Reverend ACS Trivett in the company of the Church Trustees (comprising figures from Shanghai's British establishment). Over the next 12 years until the Japanese Occupation, "Cathedral Boys", as the pupils were known, came to see themselves as a cut above the rest of the Shanghai schools for foreigners.
Its most famous Old Boy was the author JG Ballard who wrote the semi-autobiographical account of the life of a British schoolboy during internment by the Japanese, the excellent "Empire of the Sun".
Cambridge Rd, British Concession.
As Tientsin flourished after the end of WWI, Western expatriates flocked to take advantage of the business opportunities on offer. To cater for the growing numbers, a new residential suburb was created in the south-west of the British Concession. It was here that the British, other foreign residents and upwardly-mobile Chinese could live in a replica of a London suburb; the streets were either named after British towns (Glasgow, Cardiff, Dunbarton, Douglas) , British rivers (Avon, Tyne, Severn, Clyde) or British colonial cities (Hongkong, Colombo, Sydney, Singapore). It was bound to the south by Race Course Road .
This Italianate residence was built by French architects for Jilian warlord Zhang Zuo Xiang (张作相). The sign on the fence tells us in mangled prose that:-
"(it) was a typical collective western style with rich variety in its form.There is rich decoration and acrhitrave on its facade, presents magnificent appearance, owns the taste of classicalism"
.....whatever that means.
Cnr The Bund & Jinkee Rd, Shanghai.
Established in 1912, the Bank of China competed with other local banks in its quest to be China’s central bank. The 1920s and 1930s presented many difficulties and the Great Depression, the continued civil wars in China and the threat of Communism all contributed to the Bank's mixed fortunes during those early decades. In 1935, the Nationalist Government took over the bank and embarked on a modernisation program with a patriotic (and no doubt political) fervour. The design and construction of this flagship bank building was to embody the confidence and modernity of the bank but also emphasise its Chinese characteristics.
Built on the Bund on a prominent site previously occupied by the German Club Concordia, the brief by the Bank Chairman (and Finance Minister) to architects Tug Wilson and Luke Him Sau (aka Lu Qian Shou) of Palmer & Turner was to built the tallest building in the city. Whilst this was not achieved due to opposition from Sir Victor Sassoon, the owner of its immediate neighbour Sassoon House (see my photo at www.flickr.com/photos/23268776@N03/6329160654 ), the building is a timeless masterpiece of Modernist design incorporating Chinese ornamental motifs; carved stonework, patterned windows and curved roof. It was to become the prototype for subsequent Bank of China building designs in Hong Kong (1950) and Singapore (1954). Lu Qian Shou was trained in the UK and was one of the first Chinese architects to gain membership in RIBA.
The Bund, British Concession.
The International Banking Corporation was chartered to conduct American banking interests in China at a time when direct banking overseas was forbidden to US national banks. The IBC's first bank opened in Shanghai as early as 1902 and its Hankow branch was opened in 1910. Known by the Chinese as "Flower Flag Bank" after the stars of the American flag, the Bank was responsible for the issuing of banknotes in China which bore the distinctive (and very American) emblem of the eagle and the globe. An example of such a banknote which was in circulation in Hankow in 1918 can be seen at www.ichengxuan.com/images/2014s/2816.jpg .
By 1917, after three long years of war in Europe, New York had overtaken London as the financial capital of the world. That year, the IBC was acquired by the National City Bank of New York. Notwithstanding the takeover, it continued to operate in China under the International Banking Corporation name until 1927.
In the early 1920s, the IBC embarked on an ambitious expansion program in China and new branch buildings were constructed in Peking (1920), Tientsin (1921) - see my photo at www.flickr.com/photos/23268776@N03/5223443571 , Canton (1924) and Hong Kong. The IBC chose American architects Henry Murphy and Richard Dana to design these buildings which all prominently featured Neo-classical styles to create a brand style for the bank.
When the building was completed in 1921, the IBC's emblem of the eagle and globe topped the parapet. Prominently sited on the Bund, it is adjacent to its very British competitor, the Hongkong and Shanghai Banking Corporation and both buildings can be seen in a 1928 photograph taken from HMS Durban, a Royal Navy warship at www.naval-history.net/ww1z08China42a.JPG .
After years as an office of the Public Security Bureau, the building has been recently restored and the eagle and globe which had been removed have been faithfully replaced.
The National City Bank of New York expanded over time and became Citibank in 1976.
Cnr Rue Cardinal Mercier & Rue Bourgeat, French Concession.
Seemingly timeless in design, this high-rise residential apartment and hotel block represented the modern and sophisticated way of living in the late 1920s; the large living spaces were "designed to relieve taipans of the onus of maintaining big mansions, heavily staffed." Developed by Shanghai's own Sir Victor Sassoon, the building housed 279 private apartments, a bakery, Tudor style banqueting hall and roof garden. Retail shops occupied those units at street level. The style is said to be Gothic Art Deco and it contrasts the brown brickwork with the white render. It would not look out of place in Manhattan and is as striking today as the day it was unveiled; the architects were Messrs Palmer & Turner. To view a photo taken in the 1940s, go to www.flickr.com/photos/10232046@N00/2075772496
It continues to function as the Jin Jiang Hotel and has hosted foreign dignitaries over the years.
Cnr Soochow Rd South, Shanghai.
This church building is a recent reconstruction (2010) of the original church which was built in the Gothic style with Romanesque touches in 1886; the original was designed by architect William Dowdall and was built of blue-grey and red brick. A Sunday School Hall and a manse were added in 1899 and the church was enlarged in 1901. Occupying a prominent position on the southern bank of the Soochow Creek, the church and its 108ft (33m) octagonal spire were familiar landmarks to generations of river-borne traffic.
Being a non-Conformist church, the congregation consisted of all Free Church denominations (ie: those Christians who were not of the mainstream Anglican, Church of Scotland or Roman Catholic faiths). Sunday services were held at 11am and 6pm with Prayer Meetings held on Wednesdays at 5:30pm, Lord's Supper on the first Sunday of the month with meetings of the Christian Endeavour Society, Literary & Social Guild, Boys' Brigade, singing lessons all keeping the weekly church calendar busy.
After the Communist party took power in 1949, the church building represented the twin hated symbols of the past; being both a symbol of religion and of foreigners. During those dark decades, the spire was removed by Red Guards and heaping more indignity, the church was converted into a factory. Ugly modern walls covered the ecclesiastical architecture from the passing public. For a photo of the church taken in 2003, go to fellow flickrite lowcola's shot at www.flickr.com/photos/lowcola/2667079077 . Its past was further erased by a damaging fire in 2007. Completely re-built in 2010 (using many of the original bricks and stone capitals), the church is part of the Rock Bund regeneration project and provides a popular backdrop for wedding couples and their team of photographers, hairdressers and assistants; oh the delicious irony and how those Red Guards would be spinning in their graves!
The Bund, British Concession.
This handsome building was the Hankow office for Butterfield & Swire; formed in 1867 in Shanghai, Butterfield & Swire was one of the biggest and best-known British 'hongs' or trading houses in China. Known by its Chinese name 'Taikoo', it built its trade in shipping, engineering, dockyards, sugar and insurance. It operated, inter alia, the China Navigation Co Ltd which sailed along the China coast between Tientsin, Chefoo, Shanghai, Canton and Hong Kong as well as upriver on the Yangtsze to Hankow.
This building replaced the earlier Swire building 'Hankow House' - see my photo at www.flickr.com/photos/23268776@N03/16424872190 - built a little further along the Bund which was too small to handle the staff required in the growing river trade. As well as offices, there were apartments on the upper floors for its staff. For a remarkable photo of the building taken in 1920 from the collection of John Swire & Sons, go to the archive at Historical Photographs of China website at hpc.vcea.net/Asset/Preview/dbImage_ID-17950_No-1.jpeg
The name Holt acknowledges one of Butterfield & Swire's foremost business rival and partner in the shipping world, Alfred Holt who operated a shipping company in his name, also known as the Blue Funnel Line.
Edinburgh Rd, Shanghai.
This was the residence of the Chairman (or 'taipan' as they liked to be addressed) of Butterfield & Swire, one of the leading British mercantile houses (or 'hong') in China. Known by its Chinese name 'Taikoo', Butterfield & Swire built its trade in shipping, sugar and insurance and competed in the China trade with its great rival, Jardine, Matheson & Co.
Designed for a taipan's comfort as well as entertaining a large number of guests in great luxury, the house's plans were drawn up from a distance by architect William Clough Ellis (of Portmeirion fame) who never visited China. Essentially, it combines Palladian architecture with a touch of the style of an antebellum plantation house from America's Deep South with the wide verandahs and dormer windows.
The photo shows the rear of the house looking across its wide lawn. It is not too difficult to imagine dinner guests in the 1930s smoking and flirting on the balustrade whilst others dance to a Chinese band on the patio under a warm Shanghai night sky.
For a remarkable photo of the building taken in 1933 from the collection of John Swire & Sons, go to the archive at Historical Photographs of China website at hpc.vcea.net/Asset/Preview/dbImage_ID-19772_No-1.jpeg
Cnr Tai Ping Rd & The Bund, British Concession.
Established in 1906, the Nisshen Kisen Kaisha (or Japan China Steamship Company) organised steamships between all ports on the Yangtsze and Shanghai for the two leading Japanese steamship companies at the time, the Osaka Shosen Kaisha and the Nippon Yusen Kaisha.
*I am a little unsure of the date of this building's construction. However, old photos show that it was erected after the adjacent Customs House (1924) - see my photo at www.flickr.com/photos/23268776@N03/11450648366/ . When finished, the dome of this building and the 46.3m high clocktower of the Customs House were familiar landmarks at the southern end of the British Concession to river traffic and residents alike. To view an old postcard, go to fellow flickrite Aaron Jang at www.flickr.com/photos/aaronhuixin/3137715352 .
Rue Cardinal Mercier, French Concession.
Known universally as the "French Club", this building was the home of Shanghai's most popular social and sporting clubs. Unlike the stuffier Shanghai Club and the American Club, this was the most cosmopolitan club in town, even extending its membership to women (quelle horreur!); although to balance this madness, female membership was limited to 40. The club featured a roof-top terrace (for summer dances), restaurants, a ballroom, restaurants, bars, billiards room and games room. For the more active, there was a huge swimming pool and twenty tennis courts.
The clubhouse was designed by Shanghai's leading French architects Alexandre Leonard and Paul Veysseyre of Leonard, Veysseyre et Kruze in the French Renaissance style. Unfortunately, due to the surrounding trees and cars, my photo does not capture the wide frontage of the building. Sadly too, the twin cupolas on the roof have been removed but a photo of the original club in its heyday can be found at the website of Virtual Shanghai at www.virtualshanghai.net/Asset/Preview/dbImage_ID-1390_No-... .
It is now part of the Okura Garden Hotel on what is now known as Maoming Road South.
Quai de France, French Concession.
Formed in 1867 in Shanghai, Butterfield & Swire was one of the biggest and best-known British 'hongs' or trading houses. Known by its Chinese name 'Taikoo', Butterfield & Swire built its trade in shipping, sugar and insurance. It operated The China Navigation Co Ltd which sailed , amongst other places along the China coast between Tientsin, Chefoo, Shanghai, Canton and Hong Kong.
Designed by Shanghai-based architects Messrs Davies, Brooke & Gran, this utilitarian red brick office and godown building is located on the French Bund or Quai de France, just to the south of the British Bund. For a remarkable photo of the building taken from the collection of John Swire & Sons, go to the archive at Historical Photographs of China website at hpc.vcea.net/Asset/Preview/dbImage_ID-17974_No-1.jpeg
Swires also had godowns and its own jetties. It was and remains one of the leading British trading firms in China owning 40% of the airline Cathay Pacific.
Cnr Rue de France & Rue du Consulat, French Concession.
Established in 1909 at a time when Korea was under Japanese rule, the Bank of Korea was renamed the Bank of Chosen in 1911 as a Japanese government bank. Like Japan's other major overseas bank, the Yokohama Specie Bank, the Bank of Chosen (朝鲜银行吧) was used by the Japanese to promote Japanese trade interests overseas and in particular in China and Manchuria. The use of what was essentially a "colonial" bank was an attempt to deflect Chinese animosity towards Japanese increased expansionism and growing hostility in the 1920s and 1930s towards Japan. At its peak, the Bank of Chosen had over 16 branches in northern China and Manchuria.
The architects were the French firm of Charrey & Conversy.
Museum Rd, Shanghai.
In a city founded on commerce and focused primarily on the accumulation of wealth, the RAS provided an intellectual diversion where like-minded westerners (initially but later open to all) could share their experience of the history, culture, science and arts of China. Tracing its origins to the Shanghai Literary & Scientific Society (1857), the North China Branch of the Royal Asiatic Society came into being in 1858, after affiliation was granted by the parent Royal Asiatic Society of Great Britain and Ireland.
With an expanding membership and ever-growing collection of books, stuffed animals, artefacts, journals and other publications, the RAS required new premises. It also wanted to accommodate a museum and larger meeting rooms. Plans for the new building were drawn up by the prominent Shanghai architect (and RAS Council member) George 'Tug' Wilson of Messrs Palmer & Turner. The foundation stone was laid on 20 October 1931 by the British Consul Sir John Brenan. When opened, if contained the Shanghai Museum, an auditorium and a library containing over 15,000 volumes.
Whilst the shape of the building is clearly western mixing Palladian and Modernist design, it incorporates many Chinese ornamental features and motifs; most prominent of these are the "ying and yang" octagonal window grilles, old Chinese text, the balustrade and the Chinese style lions, sentinel at the upper tablet. Look closely and you can still clearly decipher the letters "R.A.S" on the upper tablet. Remarkable, given China's history since 1947.
It now functions as the Rockbund Art Museum, part of the total regeneration of the Yuenmingyuen Road area over the last 8 years by the Rockbund Group, transforming what was once empty old buildings into an upmarket F&B, office and "lifestyle" zone; think fancy hotels, restaurants and international brand names. Well, that's better than letting the old buildings be demolished.
Hongkong Rd, Shanghai.
The business of banking in China was split between the western-owned banks (eg: Hongkong & Shanghai Bank, Chartered Bank, Banque de L'Indochine etc) and the modern Chinese banks (eg: Bank of China, Kincheng Banking, Shanghai Commercial and Savings Bank etc). The owners and senior managers of these banks formed the elite of Shanghai's Chinese society. Just as the foreigners had their own clubs, so too did the Chinese bankers and the Chinese Bankers' Association was formed in 1918 with the goal of improving the exchange of financial information and banking management. It was to become an influential body which was unable to avoid becoming involved in the political and economic crises which befell both China and Shanghai in the turbulent years of the 1920s and '30s.
Paradoxically for a proudly Chinese association, the architecture of this handsome building is purely western with no allowance made for any Chinese architectural detail; it is dominated by the fluted Corinthian order columns. The architecture is somewhat grandiose though as the narrowness of the street does not allow the building to be admired from afar. The architect was Guo Yang Mo.
Walking around the interior was like stepping back in time; the original wooden parquet floor was intact (but damaged), the vibrant colours of the pressed ornamental ceiling can still be seen although it is falling apart is as is the skylight in the grand dining hall. Go to fellow flickrite lord shen's photo at www.flickr.com/photos/lordshen/10536914215 .
It now lies half-empty and expectant, as if waiting for a lifeline and a fast-track to its busy former life.
Cnr Tai Ping Rd & Tung Ting Rd, Hankow.
Occupying a prominent corner site in the former British Concession, this striking red Art Deco building was built for the National Industrial Bank of China. Its architect was Lu Yong Biao. Established in Tientsin in 1919, the National Industrial Bank of China ( 中國實業銀行) moved its headquarters to Shanghai in 1932.
Cnr North Soochow Rd & North Szechuen Rd, Shanghai.
Dominating the northern bank of the Soochow Creek, this landmark structure was the purpose-built main post office for Shanghai's International Settlement. Prior to its construction, the mail services for Shanghai had been provided by seven separate 'national' post offices (British, French, German, Japanese, Russian, American and Chinese). This inefficient system was overhauled by the Directorate General of Posts and the design for the new central post office went to an open competition. The winning design came from RE Stewardson of Messrs Stewardson, Spence and Watson, a Shanghai-based firm of architects.
This is an enormous building with a mix of western architectural styles; it has two classical street frontages featuring 50ft high fluted colonnades meeting at, for me, a largely underwhelming corner entrance with a clock tower topped off by a scalloped baroque cupola. A more impressive 'back' entrance along the corner of Tiendong Rd and North Szechuen Rd can be seen at fellow flickrite geoff-inoz's photo at www.flickr.com/photos/geoff-inoz/9156557562 ). The classical statuary depicts the Greek gods Hermes, Eros and Aphrodite, To me, it looks very Central European, rather than British or imperial.
It now houses Shanghai's Postal Museum.
Cnr Peking Rd & Kiangse Rd, International Settlement.
Tracing its origins to the Ningpo Commercial and Savings Bank (established 1908), the Ningpo Commercial Bank (Szu Ming Yin Hang) was a Chinese-owned bank run on modern banking lines. This handsome corner building is built in the English Renaissance style and had originally sported a domed tower. This building even featured on paper currency issued by the bank; see a Shanghai $1 banknote at the webpage at jbull.com.hk/media/modules/auctions/6/pics/big/400-1.jpg
Cnr Kiangse Rd & Ningpo Rd, Shanghai.
Founded in 1912 by Chinese Americans from San Francisco, this was the first Chinese foreign-owned bank in China. The Shanghai branch was opened in 1917 with offices in Hong Kong, Canton, Hankow and Swatow. This bank focused on foreign exchange and remittances between China and the United States. It also issued bank notes. By the time this modern Art Deco-style corner building was built in 1933, the bank's future seemed secure. However, when China took itself off the silver standard in 1935, the Bank of Canton failed along with many others. The architect was an American-Chinese graduate from the Pratt Institute named Poy Gum Lee who would go on to design, inter alia, the YMCA, YWCA in Shanghai.
The Bank of Canton was reorganised in 1935 by Dr TV Soong with additional branches opened in Macau.
Yuen Ming Yuen Rd, Shanghai.
Looking like something out of Gotham City, this singularly unecclesiastical building housed the China Baptist Publication Society as well as offices, warehouse and retail space. Ever since China opened up to foreigners in the 1850s, as well as traders seeking to make a quick buck, Christian missionaries descended on what was perceived to be fertile ground intending to convert the masses. Shanghai became the headquarters for various Christian groups in China and where pious collided with the avaricious in a saints and sinners world.
This was yet another building designed by the prolific architect Ladislav Hudec who had his office on the 8th floor of this building. He had returned from the USA, drawing artistic inspiration from similar buildings in Chicago and New York in a style known as Gothic Art Deco.
Ladislav Hudec was a Hungarian who designed some of Shanghai's most memorable buildings from 1919 to 1945. Educated in Budapest, Hudec joined the Austro-Hungarian Army at the outbreak of WWI. He was later captured by the Russians in 1916 and sent to a prisoner-of-war camp in Siberia. It was from here, during the turbulent years post-1917 Bolshevik Revolution, that Hudec joined other PoWs and White Russians in their voyage eastwards to the safety of Shanghai. Hudec's style was to change over the years but his contribution to Shanghai's architecture cannot be underestimated.
Rue du Chaylard, French Concession.
This is yet another Chinese bank in Tientsin although unlike almost all the others which are located along Victoria Road (dubbed Tientsin's "Wall Street"), this buidling is found in the retail district of the French Concession. The architect of this attractive corner building was Shen Liyuan.
The NCB was established in 1907 by the Chekiang Railway Company originally to fund railroad construction. By 1915, it was headquartered in Shanghai and was known as one of the so-called "Southern Banks" which also included the Shanghai Commercial & Savings Bank and the Chekiang Industrial Bank. By 1921, the NCB had major branches in Hangchow, Hankow, Peking, Mukden and Harbin.
Cnr The Bund & Fau Cheung Rd, Hankow
Although a private bank, the Yokohama Specie Bank (est. 1880) was Japan's de-facto official banker for its foreign trade and in particular, for Japanese business interests in China; as well as its presence in Hankow, it had offices throughout the Treaty ports including Shanghai (see my photo at www.flickr.com/photos/23268776@N03/2857775897/ ), Tientsin (see my photo at www.flickr.com/photos/23268776@N03/5224043732 ) and Shameen, Canton (see my photo at www.flickr.com/photos/23268776@N03/2977776671/ ). Further afield, by 1908 it had offices, amongst other places, in London, New York, Bombay, Port Arthur and Dalny.
The Hankow branch had been opened in 1907 and the original building can be seen at the page of fellow flickrite Richard Wong at www.flickr.com/photos/57081097@N03/5265997562 .
Although this bank was located in the financial district in the British Concession, the Japanese had their own Concession area a little further north along the bund, set up in 1898 after the Sino-Japanese War. At the time, the Japanese had ambitions as a world power and aligned itself in the early years of the 20th century with the European powers in China. During the Boxer Rebellion (1900), Japanese marines fought alongside western soldiers in the defence of foreign interests in northern China.
Like many of the western buildings in Hankow, this bank was designed by the prolific British firm of achitects based in Hankow, Messrs Hemmings & Berkley.
Tai Ping Rd, British Concession.
The island of Formosa had been administered as a Japanese colony since 1895, following the Sino-Japanese War of 1892-1895. Established in 1899, the Bank of Taiwan was very much a Japanese bank albeit based in Taipei, and together with the de facto Japanese Government bank, the Yokohama Specie Bank and another Japanese colonial bank based in Korea, the Bank of Chosen, adopted a very aggressive expansion into the China markets in the early 1900s, mirroring official Japanese policy.
Hankow had a Japanese Concession area, established in 1898 after the Sino-Japanese War. At the time, the Japanese had ambitions as a world power and aligned itself in the early years of the 20th century with the European powers in China.
Neither Japan nor its bankers were popular in China in the early 20th century; anti-Japanese feeling being almost a national characteristic of the Chinese. There were frequent boycotts of Japanese businesses and banks and to overcome this anti-Japanese sentiment, the Yokohama Specie Bank conducted much of its business through its colonial banks.
There is nothing remotely Japanese about the design of this building - all rustication, columns and balustraded parapets; this is a building which would not look out of place in London or Manchester. Given the anti-Japanese feeling of the time, it is almost as if the brief to the architects was to avoid any reference or motif to Japan. Unsurprisingly perhaps given its very British appearance, the architects were the locally based British firm of Messrs Hemmings & Berkley.
Cnr Peking Rd & Szechuen Rd, International Settlement.
The National Commercial Bank was established in 1907 by the Chekiang Railway Company originally to fund railroad construction. By 1915, it was headquartered in Shanghai and was known as one of the so-called "Southern Banks" which also included the Shanghai Commercial & Savings Bank and the Chekiang Industrial Bank. By 1921, the NCB had major branches in Hangchow, Hankow, Peking, Tientsin, Mukden and Harbin.
I have no other details about the origin of this building, its architect or its date of construction*. However, it is built in the Edwardian Baroque style and the use of ornamental wrought-iron balconies lends a very European air to the upper floors - which may have provided living quarters for the bank's staff.
Other than the retail space at street level, the building has been empty for years (if not decades). This is an architectural gem worth saving and I would be interested to hear of there are any plans in store to retain this beauty.
Cnr Foochow Rd & Szechuen Rd, Shanghai.
Hamilton House is one of twin identical buildings (the other being the Metropole Hotel (1934) - see my photo at www.flickr.com/photos/23268776@N03/6328407491 ) at this junction which were designed by the prolific Shanghai-based architect, George 'Tug' Wilson of Messrs Palmer & Turner. Commissioned for Sir Victor Sassoon, Hamilton House was built in the Art-Deco style; it accommodated offices on the first three floors with luxury apartments occupying the upper floors. The penthouse apartments also had access to roof gardens, given the massed stepping at the top of the building. Faced in Soochow granite, this building would not look out of place in Chicago or New York.
The junction - previously known as Municipal Square - is an excellent example of urban architectural planning; as well as the twin buildings, the junction is graced by the complementary styles of the similar Commercial Bank of China (1936) and the earlier Shanghai Municipal Council Building (1922) - see my photo at www.flickr.com/photos/23268776@N03/2859668998 .
Poyang Rd, British Concession.
Designed by Hankow-based British architects and engineers, Messrs Hemmings & Berkley, this grand building was a collaboration between the architects and local construction firm Han Yeh Sheng.
It accommodated both commercial premises and offices on the lower floors and residential apartments on the upper floors. Not surprisingly, the prolific Messrs Hemmings & Berkley had their offices here. The firm was responsible for the design of many prominent buildings in Hankow, Shanghai and Tientsin, including the following:-
Hongkong & Shanghai Bank (1917) in Hankow - see my photo at
Chartered Bank of India, Australia and China (1926) in Tientsin - see my photo at www.flickr.com/photos/23268776@N03/5224047264 .
Hsin-Tai Building (1924) in Hankow - see my photo at www.flickr.com/photos/23268776@N03/11450693113
Rte Pere Robert, French Concession.
Built by the proprietor of the largest circulation English-language newspaper in Shanghai, 'The North China Daily News', this handsome red brick house is one of four residential buildings erected on the grounds of the Morriss Estate in the French Concession. Henry E Morriss Jnr was a Briton who had inherited and expanded upon his father's fortune; born into wealth, Harry Morriss (as he was known) lived the good life and this house reflected his love of luxury.
It is now part of the Ruijin Hotel and remains largely intact with manicured lawns, mature trees and sympathetic use of the old buildings. The large gardens give a sense of the grandeur of the houses and a glimpse into the lives of old Shanghai's tycoons.
Soochow Rd South, International Settlement.
Built on land provided by the nearby Union Church and along the southern bank of the Soochow Creek, this redbrick club building was purpose-built for the British-dominated Shanghai Rowing Club. The style is a mix of domestic, redbrick and Tudorbethan half-timbering, all planned to be perfectly familiar and comforting to any homesick Brit just about to take to the water.
The architect was a Mr Christie of Messrs Scott & Carter and the building included a large ball-room, anterooms and a roof garden; closer to the water was a boathouse.
This building was saved from demolition and along with the nearby Union Church and Apartments is part of a reconstructed area to the north of the Bund and south of the Soochow Creek.
Szechuen Rd, Shanghai.
This office building was designed by architects Messrs Lester, Johnson, Morriss & Co for the real estate magnate Frank Jay Raven's Asia Realty Company. Arriving in Shanghai from California in 1904, Raven made his fortune in real estate, financing (American-Oriental Finance Corporation), insurance (American Asiatic Underwriters Federal) and banking (American-Oriental Banking Corporation - established in 1917). The corporate logo was unsurprisingly patriotic; an American eagle.
A Fortune magazine profile on Shanghai in 1935 gave a pen-portrait of the self-disciplined and rather austere Raven who was by then one of Shanghai's wealthiest men:-
"Usually elected as one of the two American members of the Shanghai Municipal Council, Mr. Raven is a pillar of the American community. Having married Elsie Sites, daughter of a missionary and a fervent dry, no liquor is served at his estate on Hungjao Road. Though extensive, his entertaining is austere; and he is one of the few Shanghailanders whom the Reverend Emory W. Luccock sees regularly in a front pew of the American Community Church on Sunday mornings. Mr. Raven's principal diversion is tennis, which he plays on his own estate or at the Columbia Country Club or at the French Club. A fervid Rotarian, he too is a bull on Shanghai; but, though President of the Board of the American School, his three daughters are being educated in Heidelberg."
Later that year, Raven's empire spectacularly crashed and he ended up doing time back in the US.