Former French Mission Building description and photos - Hong Kong: Hong Kong (Topic)

Former French Mission Building description and photos - Hong Kong: Hong Kong. Detailed information about the attraction. Description, photographs and a map showing the nearest significant objects. The title in English is Former French Mission Building.

Photo and description

The building of the former French Mission has long been used by the French Society of Foreign Missions as a representative office in Hong Kong. The three-story building with a basement was built of granite and red brick in the neoclassical style.

The first two-story mansion ("Johnston House") built in 1842 was occupied by alternately different owners, among whom were both individuals and trading companies. and even the Russian consulate. The house was purchased and renovated in the 1870s and 1880s. During the rebuilding, later ordered by the French Mission, another floor was added, the finish of the white plastered facade was changed, the walls were faced with bricks. A chapel was placed in the northwest corner, its domed cupola dominates the rest of the roof.

The building underwent several more repairs in the future, but many historical architectural features can be seen in it now. For example, the ground-floor hall, with its ornate columns, wooden staircase and vaulted ceilings, and a graceful courtyard, is one of the finest examples of traditional Edwardian architecture in Hong Kong.

After World War II, the building was used for some time as the temporary headquarters of the Hong Kong government. The French mission and the country's leadership signed a contract to sell the building in 1952. Since 1953, it has consistently housed the Department of Education, the Victoria District Court, the Supreme Court and the Ministry of Information Services. From 1997 to the present, the building has been occupied by the Hong Kong Court of Last Instance.

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Topic: Former French Mission Building description and photos - Hong Kong: Hong Kong.