Justice Place, Grade I office building in Central, Hong Kong.
Justice Place is a three-wing office complex on the lower slope of Government Hill in Central, Hong Kong, made up of the East Wing (1954), Main Wing (1956) and West Wing (1959). The wings step down the hillside between Lower Albert Road and Garden Road, and the complex has been the Department of Justice headquarters since 2015.
The site housed government offices from the 1840s; the two-storey Old Secretariat Building opened in 1848 and was demolished in 1954. The East Wing was completed in 1954, the Main Wing in 1956 and the West Wing in 1959, with Governor Alexander Grantham opening the first two on 9 January 1957. The Legislative Council met here until 1985, the government moved to Tamar in 2011, and the complex became Justice Place in 2015.
The name Justice Place dates from July 2015, when the former Central Government Offices were renamed after the Department of Justice moved in. The Main Wing's forecourt was long the public face of the complex, the site of protests and official announcements; fences went up in 1998 to keep out demonstrators without permits. The West Wing's roughly 4,500 square metres were set aside from 2014 for non-profit law-related bodies such as the Hong Kong International Arbitration Centre at nominal rent.
The building is located in Central, within easy walking distance of several MTR stations, making it straightforward to reach on foot. Access to public areas is possible on weekdays, but all visitors must pass through a security check at the entrance before entering.
The Main Wing's forecourt was the site of many protests and public announcements; a series of fences went up in 1998 after the handover to keep out protesters without permission. The West Wing's rooftop food outlet and heritage corridor, planned for 2019-2020, were never opened to the public.
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