page_title: Hong Kong Club Building
section_title: Second generation
hierarchical_section_title: Hong Kong Club Building / History / Second generation
caption_attribution_description: Hongkong Club and Queen Victoria statue (Postcard c.1905-1910), unknown photographer and publisher
context_page_description: The Hong Kong Club Building is a 25-story office building located in between Chater Road and Connaught Road Central at the junction of Jackson Road, in Central, Hong Kong. The Hong Kong Club Building is currently in its third generation, in its second location. It is owned by the Hong Kong Club, which occupies 8 levels, while the other floors are leased for office use.
  The Hong Kong Club Building, in its second incarnation, was one of the last examples of renaissance architecture remaining in Hong Kong. The building was completed in 1897, and demolished in June 1981. It was replaced by the current modern building.
context_section_description: On 16 February 1895, the Club was granted a 999-year lease on the site under which it had very few restrictions. Rent of $324 was paid annually to the Government. The club building was designed by Palmer & Turner, and was completed in July 1897.
  The club held a referendum in around 1974, when the members voted to retain the building and not to redevelop. In 1977 and again in 1978, a demolition plan was rejected by members. The club committee became increasingly alarmist with arguments to redevelop, including the assertion in 1978 that the building was a fire safety hazard; that, in November 1979, it made inflated claims that it would cost HK$25 million to renovate, and eventually won the day. 
  In 1981, architects who designed the building but who lodged an application to demolish it were quoted as saying that the existing building was old, traditional and would fall to pieces if leaned on heavily. A spokesman said it would "come down like a pack of cards".
caption: Second generation Hong Kong Club Building and Statue of Queen Victoria, c1905
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