page_title: Former Marine Police Headquarters
section_title: History and design
hierarchical_section_title: Former Marine Police Headquarters / History and design
caption_attribution_description: English: kowloon water police
context_page_description: The Former Marine Police Headquarters Compound, completed in 1884, is located in Tsim Sha Tsui, Kowloon, Hong Kong. The Kowloon compound served as the headquarters for the Marine Police, now a unit within the Hong Kong Police Force, since its establishment until late 1996, when it was moved to Sai Wan Ho.
  The compound is a declared monument since 1994 as it is one of the four oldest surviving government buildings in Hong Kong. The Compound and the Old Kowloon Fire Station have been re-developed into a heritage hotel with food and beverage outlets and retail facilities in a project headed by architect Daniel Lin of A+T Design, opened in 2009. The site is now officially renamed as 1881 Heritage.
context_section_description: The compound was completed in 1884 and served as the headquarters of the Water Police (as they were originally known) until late 1996. The main building was originally constructed on the waterfront, and had a dedicated slip prior to the reclamation of land to create Salisbury Road. To the east, the headquarters faced a sandy beach.
  During the Japanese Occupation (1941–1945), the compound was used as a base for the Japanese navy. At this time, an extensive network of 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 gardens, when the slope to the east 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 set in Hong Kong: Soldier of Fortune by Ernest K. Gann, published in 1954; and Dragon Flame by the house author Nick Carter, published in 1966.
caption: The Marine Police Headquarters in the 1900s. At that time, the building was still a two-storey structure.
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