PRESS RELEASE
Royal Visit @
WEDNESDAY, AUGUST 27, 1936
A MONUMENT THAT LOOKS TO THE FUTURE
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MONUMENTS ARE USUALLY REMINDERS OF THE PAST. BUT IN THE MIDDLE OF CENTRAL IS A MONUMENT THAT WILL HAVE MUCH TO DO WITH SHAPING HONG KONG'S FUTURE - THE LEGISLATIVE COUNCIL BUILDING,
THE BUILDING, OPENED IN ITS NEW ROLE LAST YEAR, WILL BE VISITED
THE ROYAL BY THE QUEEN AND THE DUKE OF EDINBURGH ON OCTOBER 21. VISITORS WILL ATTEND A RECEPTION FOR LEGCO MEMBERS AND THEIR WIVES, VISIT THE LEGCO CHAMBER AND THE QUEEN WILL UNVEIL A COMMEMORATIVE PLAQUE.
IT WILL BE ANOTHER HISTORIC MOMENT FOR A BUILDING THAT HAS BEEN THE SCENE OF MANY HISTORIC OCCASIONS IN ITS 74-YEAR EXISTENCE.
ALTHOUGH THE GOVERNOR OF THE DAY, SIR FREDERICK LUGARD DESCRIBED IT AS A MONUMENT OF WHICH WE MAY BE PROUD WHEN HE DECLARED IT OPEN AS THE SUPREME COURT BUILDING IN 1912, AND THOUGH THE EXTERIOR WAS RECENTLY DECLARED A MONUMENT UNDER THE ANTIQUITIES AND MONUMENTS ORDINANCE, THE BUILDING WAS DESIGNED FOR PRACTICAL USE AND IT HAS SEEN PLENTY OF THAT SINCE 1912.
THE LEGCO CHAMBER THAT THE QUEEN AND THE DUKE WILL VISIT ABSORBED MUCH OF THE $35 MILLION SPENT ON RENOVATING THE BUILDING AND CONVERTING IT TO A HOME FOR THE LEGISLATIVE COUNCIL.
THE 300-SQUARE-METRE CHAMBER HAS LIGHT TAN LEATHER SEATS FOR 74 MEMBERS AND 120 SEATS FOR THE PUBLIC, SOME IN GALLERIES OVERLOOKING THE CHAMBER. THERE ARE ALSO FACILITIES FOR SIMULTANEOUS TRANSLATION AND SPACE FOR THE MEDIA, INCLUDING DIRECT RADIO AND TELEVISION LINKS.
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THE BUILDING ITSELF HAS A CONNECTION, IF RATHER TENUOUS, WITH THE ROYAL FAMILY. BECAUSE IT WAS DESIGNED BY ASTON WEBB AND E. INGRESS BELL, THE ARCHITECTS RESPONSIBLE FOR THE FACADE OF BUCKINGHAM PALACE, THE QUEEN'S LONDON HOME.
BUILT ON RECLAIMED LAND BY A LOCAL CHINESE CONTRACTOR, THE STRUCTURE ACTUALLY +FLOATS+ ON A TIMBER RAFT OF HUNDREDS OF CHINESE FIR TRUNKS WHICH WERE DRIVEN INTO THE MIXTURE OF RECLAMATION MATERIAL AND SILT.
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