Harcourt Garden

Harcourt Garden
Traditional Chinese夏慤花園
Simplified Chinese夏悫花园
Transcriptions
Standard Mandarin
Hanyu PinyinXiàquè Huāyuán
Yue: Cantonese
Jyutpinghaa6 kok3 faa1 jyun4
Harcourt Garden after South Island line construction works in 2018.
29 granite blocks, originally part of a mid-19th century seawall and found at the works site, are displayed in the garden.
Harcourt Garden before the construction work (2006).
Rodney Street is running between the United Centre (left) and Harcourt Garden (right). The street in the foreground is Queensway. 2010.

Harcourt Garden (Chinese: 夏慤花園; Jyutping: haa6 kok3 faa1 jyun4) is a small urban park in Admiralty, Hong Kong, constructed in the mid-1990s.[1] To the east of the park is the Hong Kong Police Headquarters while to the west is Admiralty bus station. Like the adjacent Harcourt Road, the park is named for Admiral Cecil Harcourt, de facto governor of Hong Kong from September 1945 to June 1946.

History

The park is on land reclaimed from Victoria Harbour in 1863.[2][3]

As part of the large naval and military installations that dominated this area until the 1970s and 1980s, this site was formerly occupied by the Wellington Battery and the Military Hospital, all associated with the Wellington Barracks. The adjacent military arsenal is recalled in the name of Arsenal Street.[4][2][5][6]

In 2013 to 2018, the garden was closed due to the expansion of Admiralty station for the South Island Line and the Sha Tin to Central Link. The garden now has a clock tower, new entrances to the station and several art pieces.[needs update]

Refurbishment

As of 2020, the park has been reopened after the construction directly below the site for the extension of Admiralty station. This expansion houses the terminus platforms of the new MTR South Island line (East) and Sha Tin to Central Link. The MTR has refurbished the garden and moved it to the rooftop[clarify] of the station building.[1][7][8]

See also

References

  1. ^ a b EIA - South Island Line (East), p11.6, Mott MacDonald
  2. ^ a b South Island Line (East) EIA, 11. Cultural Heritage Impact
  3. ^ Geological Map for the Proposed Works Area at Admiralty, South Island Line (East) EIA, Fig 11-1
  4. ^ 1856 map of military installations, from EIA for South Island Line (East)
  5. ^ Projection from 1936-46 map overlaying 1880 map, South Island Line (East) EIA, Fig 11-18
  6. ^ Plan showing Wellington Battery, Military Hospital and Works Alignments on Modern Topographical Map, South Island Line (East) EIA, Fig 11-41
  7. ^ Admiralty Station – Proposed Extension and Associated Facilities, EIA Report for South Island Line (East), App 6 3
  8. ^ South Island Line (East) Environmental Impact Assessment, Executive Summary

22°16′44″N 114°10′00″E / 22.27878°N 114.16663°E / 22.27878; 114.16663