Hong Kong House, Heritage building in Sydney, Australia
Hong Kong House is a five-story Victorian Free Classical building located at the corner of Druitt Street and York Street in central Sydney. The structure features detailed stonework and architectural elements typical of late 19th-century commercial buildings in the city.
In 1888 the Excelsior Land, Building and Investment Company and Bank Limited held a competition for a hotel and banking premises on the site; Ambrose Thornley won with a design submitted in June 1890 and labelled "Central Hotel". The hotel opened in 1891, was later renamed the Gresham Hotel, and in 1896 a branch of the City Bank of Sydney opened on the ground level. Tooth and Co. bought the hotel in 1925; the bank passed to the Australian Bank of Commerce in 1918 and the Bank of New South Wales in 1931. In the late 1980s the hotel was converted to offices, and since 1995 it has housed the Hong Kong Economic and Trade Office.
The building's name marks its 1995 change of use: it now houses the Hong Kong Economic and Trade Office, the Hong Kong Tourism Board's Australasia office, Invest Hong Kong and the Hong Kong Trade Development Council. A plaque unveiled on 23 June 2011 by NSW Governor Marie Bashir and Hong Kong Chief Executive Donald Tsang records this association.
The building is located in downtown Sydney with good access to public transportation and proximity to other notable landmarks in the area. Since it functions as an active office space, visitor access may be limited or require prior arrangements.
In late 2014, during the Umbrella protests in Hong Kong, the street-level frontages of Hong Kong House were covered with yellow, pink and blue Post-it notes carrying messages of solidarity. A plaque unveiled on 23 June 2011 by NSW Governor Marie Bashir and Hong Kong Chief Executive Donald Tsang commemorates the building's history and its association with Hong Kong.
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