Legislative Council Building
Encyclopedia
Hong Kong
Hong Kong is one of two Special Administrative Regions of the People's Republic of China , the other being Macau. A city-state situated on China's south coast and enclosed by the Pearl River Delta and South China Sea, it is renowned for its expansive skyline and deep natural harbour...
, also called the Former Supreme Court Building (前最高法院大樓), was the home of the former Supreme Court
Supreme Court (Hong Kong)
The Supreme Court was the highest court in Hong Kong prior to the transfer of sovereignty of Hong Kong from the United Kingdom to the People's Republic of China in 1997 and heard cases of first instance and appeals from the District and Magisrates Courts as well as certain tribunals...
until 1985, when it was renamed and became home to the Legislative Council of Hong Kong
Legislative Council of Hong Kong
The Legislative Council is the unicameral legislature of Hong Kong.-History:The Legislative Council of Hong Kong was set up in 1843 as a colonial legislature under British rule...
. Members of the Council and the President have offices in this building. It is located in Central
Central, Hong Kong
Central is the central business district of Hong Kong. It is located in Central and Western District, on the north shore of Hong Kong Island, across Victoria Harbour from Tsim Sha Tsui, the southernmost point of Kowloon Peninsula...
Hong Kong, along the eastern side of Statue Square
Statue Square
Statue Square is a public pedestrian square in Central, Hong Kong.-History:The square was built at the end of the 19th century. The idea of a square of statues dedicated to royalty was conceived by Sir Catchick Paul Chater. It derives its name from the fact that it originally contained the statue...
, directly west of Chater Garden
Chater Garden
Chater Garden , located in the Central District of Hong Kong, is a public park directly east of the Legislative Council building. It is named after Sir Paul Chater, and one side of the garden is on Chater Road which is also named after him.-History:...
.
The Exterior of the Old Supreme Court is one of the declared monuments of Hong Kong
Declared monuments of Hong Kong
Declared monuments of Hong Kong are places, structures or buildings legally declared to be "protected". In Hong Kong, declaring a monument requires consulting the Antiquities Advisory Board, the approval of the Chief Executive as well as the publication of the notice in government gazette.As of 12...
.
History
The building was designed by Sir Aston WebbAston Webb
Sir Aston Webb, RA, FRIBA was an English architect, active in the late 19th century and at the beginning of the 20th century...
and Ingress Bell
Ingress Bell
Edward Ingress Bell was an English architect of the late 19th and early 20th century, who worked for many years in partnership with the more well-known Sir Aston Webb....
, the British architect responsible for the eastern façade of Buckingham Palace
Buckingham Palace
Buckingham Palace, in London, is the principal residence and office of the British monarch. Located in the City of Westminster, the palace is a setting for state occasions and royal hospitality...
and the Cromwell Road frontage of the Victoria and Albert Museum
Victoria and Albert Museum
The Victoria and Albert Museum , set in the Brompton district of The Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea, London, England, is the world's largest museum of decorative arts and design, housing a permanent collection of over 4.5 million objects...
in London
London
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
.
It was built on reclaimed land
Land reclamation in Hong Kong
Land is in short supply in Hong Kong, and land reclamation has been conducted there since the mid-19th century.-Projects:One of the earliest and famous project was the Praya Reclamation Scheme, which added 50 to of land in 1890 during the second phase of construction...
, and opened on 15 January 1912. The two-storey granite
Granite
Granite is a common and widely occurring type of intrusive, felsic, igneous rock. Granite usually has a medium- to coarse-grained texture. Occasionally some individual crystals are larger than the groundmass, in which case the texture is known as porphyritic. A granitic rock with a porphyritic...
building is neo-classical
Neoclassical architecture
Neoclassical architecture was an architectural style produced by the neoclassical movement that began in the mid-18th century, manifested both in its details as a reaction against the Rococo style of naturalistic ornament, and in its architectural formulas as an outgrowth of some classicizing...
in style supported by Ionic
Ionic order
The Ionic order forms one of the three orders or organizational systems of classical architecture, the other two canonic orders being the Doric and the Corinthian...
columns. It is surmounted by a blind-folded statue of Justice, represented by the Themis
Themis
Themis is an ancient Greek Titaness. She is described as "of good counsel", and is the embodiment of divine order, law, and custom. Themis means "divine law" rather than human ordinance, literally "that which is put in place", from the verb τίθημι, títhēmi, "to put"...
, the Greek Goddess of Justice and Law. This statue is a replica of the one erected on the Old Bailey of London.
In 1978, this building was severely affected by the construction of MTR
MTR
Mass Transit Railway is the rapid transit railway system in Hong Kong. Originally opened in 1979, the system now includes 211.6 km of rail with 155 stations, including 86 railway stations and 69 light rail stops...
; therefore, it had to undergo some restoration afterwards.
For a time in the 1980s, the Supreme Court was moved to the Former French Mission Building
Former French Mission Building
The Former French Mission Building is a declared monument of Hong Kong. It is located at 1, Battery Path, Central. It currently houses the Court of Final Appeal of Hong Kong.-Features:...
, which was then used by the Victoria District Court
District Court (Hong Kong)
The District Court is the lower court system in Hong Kong, having both criminal and civil jurisdictions. It is located in the Wanchai Law Courts, Wanchai Tower, 12 Harbour Road...
.
The Supreme Court of Hong Kong was moved to the Supreme Court Building, Hong Kong after 1985 and remained there until 1997. It is now renamed the High Court Building.
Following the move to the Tamar site in 2011, the current building will revert to the home to the Court of Final Appeal.
Previous homes of the Legislative Council
Before 1985, the Legco met at other locations:- Former French Mission BuildingFormer French Mission BuildingThe Former French Mission Building is a declared monument of Hong Kong. It is located at 1, Battery Path, Central. It currently houses the Court of Final Appeal of Hong Kong.-Features:...
1843–1846 - Caine Road 1846–?
- Government House, Hong KongGovernment House, Hong KongGovernment House , located on Government Hill in the Central District of Hong Kong Island, is the official residence of the Chief Executive of Hong Kong...
1855; used ballroom after 1891 - Old Central Government OfficesOld Central Government OfficesThe old Central Government Office was home to many of Hong Kong Government's departments from 1847 to 1954. Built in 1847 as the Secretariat Building, it was also home to the territory's Legislative Council from the 1930s to 1954....
1930s until 1954 - Central Government OfficesCentral Government OfficesThe Central Government Offices houses the most major offices of the Hong Kong Government. Located in Central in Hong Kong, it occupies the lower level of Government Hill.- History :...
1957–1985
Prior to the handover in 1997, the Provisional Legislative Council
Provisional Legislative Council
The Provisional Legislative Council or the PLC was the interim legislature of Hong Kong from 1997 to 1998. The legislature was founded in Guangzhou and sat in Shenzhen from 1996 until the handover in 1997 and moved to Hong Kong to serves as the temporary replacement of Legislative Council of Hong...
was executing work to set up the post handover legislature. It met in Shenzhen
Shenzhen
Shenzhen is a major city in the south of Southern China's Guangdong Province, situated immediately north of Hong Kong. The area became China's first—and one of the most successful—Special Economic Zones...
, Guangdong
Guangdong
Guangdong is a province on the South China Sea coast of the People's Republic of China. The province was previously often written with the alternative English name Kwangtung Province...
, China
China
Chinese civilization may refer to:* China for more general discussion of the country.* Chinese culture* Greater China, the transnational community of ethnic Chinese.* History of China* Sinosphere, the area historically affected by Chinese culture...
from 1996 to 1997 at the Shenzhen Guesthouse Hotel
Shenzhen Guesthouse Hotel
Shenzhen Guesthouse Hotel is a three star hotel in Shenzhen, China and one of the conference halls housed the Provisional Legislative Council of Hong Kong from January 1996 to June 1997....
.
See also
- Central and Western Heritage TrailCentral and Western Heritage TrailThe Central and Western Heritage Trail is a Heritage Trail in Hong Kong, that was designed by the Antiquities and Monuments Office of the Leisure and Cultural Services Department.It covers the Central and Western District of Hong Kong and consists of 3 parts:...
- List of buildings and structures in Hong Kong
- Central Government Complex, TamarCentral Government Complex, TamarCentral Government Complex, Tamar will be the new location for the offices of the Government of Hong Kong Special Administrative Region.The new government building will neither use Communist Chinese or European government building designs, but a rather a mix of postmodern architecture and...
- Macau Legislative Assembly BuildingMacau Legislative Assembly BuildingMacau Legislative Assembly Building is the home of the Legislative Assembly of Macau and various government offices.Construction began in 1998 and was completed in 1999 for the handover. The building is triangular in shape and overlooks Nam Van Lake and within the Cathedral Parish. The assembly's...
and Leal SenadoLeal SenadoThis article is about the building. For the organization known as the Leal Senado, see Municipal Council of Macau.The Leal Senado Building was the seat of Macau's government during its time as a Portuguese colony. It is located at one end of the Senado Square... - 2010 Legislative Council Building graffiti incident