Ladder Street

Street in Hong Kong

Ladder Street
Traditional Chinese樓梯街
Simplified Chinese楼梯街
Transcriptions
Standard Mandarin
Hanyu PinyinLóutī Jiē
Yue: Cantonese
Yale RomanizationLàuh tāi gāai
JyutpingLau4 tai1 gaai1
Ladder Street at the junction with Rozario Street.
Ladder Street and Man Mo Temple (left) at the intersection with Hollywood Road.
Lower end of Ladder Street, at the junction of Queen's Road Central and Lok Ku Road.

Ladder Street is a street in the Central and Western District of Hong Kong, consisting entirely of steps and landings formed by granite slabs or concrete paving. It was so named because it extends straight up and down like a ladder.[1] The street has been listed as a Grade I historic building.[2]

History

Ladder Street was built between 1841 and 1850. The name 'Ladder Street' first appeared on a plan of Victoria dated 1856.[1]

Location

Ladder Street starts north at the junction of Queen's Road Central and Lok Ku Road (樂古道). It extends up and south to Caine Road. It intersects with Hollywood Road and Bridges Street and has junctions with Upper Lascar Row, Circular Pathway (弓弦巷), Square Street (四方街) and Rozario Street (老沙路街).[1]

Features

The Man Mo Temple on Hollywood Road is located at the corner of Ladder Street.[3]

The Chinese YMCA of Hong Kong, Bridges Street Centre, is located at the corner of Bridges Street and Ladder Street.[4]

Metal railings have been installed at the centre of the street and open drainage channels are located at each side to drain off rainwater. Many old sections of stone retaining walls and boundary walls are located along Ladder Street.[1]

Plans to build escalators at five sections of Ladder Street were considered by the Transport and Housing Bureau but were abandoned in 2010 due to heritage concerns.[5][6][7]

In popular culture

Ladder Street was one of the filming locations of the 1960 film The World of Suzie Wong.[3][8]

See also

References

  1. ^ a b c d Antiquities Advisory Board. Historic Building Appraisal. Ladder Street, Hong Kong
  2. ^ Antiquities Advisory Board. List of the 1,444 Historic Buildings with Assessment Results
  3. ^ a b Film Services Office. Location Database. Ladder Street
  4. ^ Film Services Office. Location Database. Chinese YMCA of Hong Kong - Bridges Street Centre
  5. ^ Ng, Joyce (5 April 2020). "Ladder Street escalator on cards". South China Morning Post.
  6. ^ Ng, Joyce (8 July 2020). "Escalator plan for Ladder Street scrapped over heritage concerns". South China Morning Post.
  7. ^ DeWolf, Christopher (5 May 2016). "Stair Culture: Digging Into the Past and Present of Hong Kong's Ladder Streets". Zolima Citymag. Zolima Ltd.
  8. ^ Lai, Linda Chiu-Han (2013). "Many-Splendored Things". In Chiu-Han Lai, Linda Chiu-Han; Choi, Kimburley Wing-yee (eds.). World Film Locations: Hong Kong. Intellect Books. p. 45. ISBN 9781783200214.

Further reading

  • Fung, Pak-shing (2005). The conservation plan for Ladder Street (MSc Conservation thesis). The University of Hong Kong. doi:10.5353/th_b4758127 (inactive 12 April 2024).{{cite thesis}}: CS1 maint: DOI inactive as of April 2024 (link)
  • Cheng, Ka-for (1998). Revitalization of Ladder Street in Tai Ping Shan Town (M Arch thesis). The University of Hong Kong. doi:10.5353/th_b3198383 (inactive 12 April 2024).{{cite thesis}}: CS1 maint: DOI inactive as of April 2024 (link)

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Ladder Street.
  • "Stairs of Ladder Street / Queen's Road Central to Caine Road". Hong Kong Stair Archive. Stair Culture. 2 March 2016.
  • Antiquities Advisory Board. Pictures of Ladder Street
  • Entry at gwulo.com
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Central and Western District
Wan Chai DistrictEastern DistrictSouthern DistrictSpans more than one district

22°17′03″N 114°09′00″E / 22.284177°N 114.150081°E / 22.284177; 114.150081