Back in 1989 we can still see the place before it was given its additional office tower (added in 1994) and the basement carpark that is now accessed from the main driveway seen above. Actually, I'm not sure when the carpark was added, but perhaps at the same time as the 30-floor office block? As a result of the carpark the front driveway was raised a couple of feet and the main entrance lost its steps as a result.
4 comments:
The car park was added earlier. Not sure exactly when, if I'd had a guess without noticing the date of the film it would've been mid to late 80s, so I guess it was actually 89 to 91-ish.
Apropos of nothing: Towards the end of the construction in September 1993, a shipping container blew off the Peninsula during Severe Tropical Storm Becky and hit the Kowloon Hotel on the other side of the road, taking out several floors worth of windows before ending up like a pancake in Middle Road. I lived on Mody Road at the time, and saw it when I ventured out when the wind slackened off slightly. Only time I've ever seen whitecaps in the harbor. I left HK not long after that, and the carpark was definitely complete long before I left.
Actually, I believe the filming of this was done throughout 1988 and the series was aired the following year, so a 89-91 date for the carpark is certainly possible. I'm just surprised they didn't do it all in one go and get the noise and mess all over with in one go.
Interesting note about the container though. I'd never heard of that. Many thanks
Phil
Could well be that they couldn't do it in one go. The extension was added to the back of the property, and the car park underneath the front. (They'd done a fair bit of the extension by the time I left, and I distinctly remember wooden hoardings all around the back of the Peninsula.)
The hotel remained open throughout construction, so maybe they used the back as the main entrance while they worked on the front, and vice versa.
quite possible. I wonder if you can remember when they removed the footbridge between the two hotels across Middle Road. You can still see the window area it used to run from at the back of the Pen - it has a slightly different shape to its neighbours.
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