Tuesday, October 17, 2017

Heisser Hafen Hongkong - Horst Frank (1962) - Junction of Waterloo Road and Shanghai Street, Mongkok

Here is another impressive find by Thomas when you consider this film is 55 years old. The scene is not really important, it's just one of the many establishing shots that was used throughout this film, but it's just nice being able to locate these small snippets and give them a little bit of historical context. In this shot we are looking up Shanghai Street from the junction with Waterloo Road and there are various businesses that can be seen including what looks like a place called the "Mido" (not to be confused with the famous eaterie in Yau Ma Tei) and this place on the corner called "Goldengate". 


Also notice the rather new looking building on the left in the lower photo. This is #3 Waterloo Road and was built in 1962 - the same year this film was made, hence why it is looking so new. It's still there but, like with many other older buildings with balconies, the balconies have since been filled in (illegally!) to make more internal living space. Let's face it, these days the traffic on Waterloo Road is so busy it's not really the sort of place where you would want to sit outside breathing in all that vehicle exhaust!

Anyway, once again a big thanks to Thomas for going above and beyond the call of duty for this one. 

2 comments:

Anonymous said...

Hi Phil,
Great find indeed. I can't identify the location although I go there once in a while. Anyway, the Mido neon sign is the advertisement for the Swiss watch brand, whose watches were rather popular locally in 50s and 60s. The Mido neon signs are sometimes also seen in other period HK photos. The Mido brand is still present in HK, now operated under the Swatch Group.

Arthur

Phil said...

Hi Arthur, yes, of course, I had forgotten about the watch brand. In HK we get bombarded by so many luxury brands it's hard to keep track. I know there is a big market in Swiss watch movements so many luxury brands make watches in China using the Swiss-made movements so they can claim the brand is Swiss made. Cheers, Phil

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