No_1_June_1964 — Page 80

▲ This procession of "giants" at the start of Nathan Road was, a few years ago, just a procession of trees hiding small shops and dwellings. The Peninsula Hotel, part of which fills the left hand side of the picture, reminds us of the spaciousness that once was. On the right is the modern Am- bassador Hotel.

Nathan Road at the turn of the

century.

NATHAN ROAD - THE ROAD REFLECTING THE CHANGING FACE OF HONG KONG

TOWHERE in Hong Kong is the

as

fantastic building boom evident as it is along Nathan Road. the busy, broad thoroughfare slicing through teeming Kowloon.

Towering structures seem to leap up from every second allotment. It is possible to stand in one spot and. without moving the eyes count up to eight or nine concrete towers sprout-

ing from an undergrowth of dil- apidated, two to four storey shops and homes.

Many new buildings are 20 and more storeys high. Ten years ago there was only one building more than 10 storeys tall.

Nathan Road's development reflects the new face of Hong Kong. During the past five years Hong Kong's skyline has completely changed.

Page 80Page 81

The grasslands and marshes. gar- dens and low colonial homes of only three to four years ago have almost completely disappeared in urban Kowloon, while on the Island, the majestic. collonaded homes perched amid rock and lawns on the slopes of Victoria Peak continue to tumble under the wrecker's hammer.

Every day in the Colony, much more than $1 million is invested in private building projects. The bulk of it goes into blocks of European type flats. The remainder into sky- seraper office properties and hotels that now dominate the scene.

Looking down to the start of Nathan ▸ Road. Whitfield Barracks on the right and the trees in front of them are the only things that have re- mained unchanged in the area.