I Spy (TV Series) - Robert Culp (1965) - Pilkem Street, Kowloon

Bill Cosby seems to be making all the headlines at the moment for all the wrong reasons and so I thought I would post this latecomer from The Loser, which sees the boys drive up to a place called the Oriental Ballroom before going up the stairs into its red decor'd interior.

It was a bit of a bummer to find initially, but given all the clues in the screen grab I'm not sure why because it looks as though all the original buildings are still here along Pilkem Street, just off Jordan Road. No surprise really seeing as in this episode the duo also go to the Lung Yu Restaurant just around the corner on Jordan Road. Here's what it looked like on screen.

In the end I managed to half guess and half read the sign on the outside which says 東方舞廳 - dung fong mou teng. Roughly speaking I guess Oriental Ballroom is a good translation. But if you look at the top photo you can also see part of the building name next door which reads "Lucky" something or other. You wouldn't believe how many buildings there are in HK that are called Lucky something. A lot! Anyway, I think I've got the correct one below if you compare the two pictures below. The whole block looks to be the same one from 1965, and a quick look on Centamap confirms that Lucky House was indeed built in 1961, and the one next door (painted blue in the screen grab below) - Shing Hing House - is even older, being built in 1957!

I Spy (TV Series) - Robert Culp (1965) - Central, Hong Kong

A nice view looking over Central from the mid-levels, from The Loser episode. A view which was still possible without the need for a high rise to see over all the other buildings. These days it would probably be difficult to find a spot with a clear view. The interesting thing to note here is that Central was still very much low-rise in 1965,and indeed it would be several years before HK's first skyscraper - the Connaught Centre(now Jardine House) would be built.

I Spy (TV Series) - Robert Culp (1965) - Queen's Road Central, Sheung Wan

Some nice glimpses - from the The Loser episode - of Queens Road Central as the duo are followed up by some dudes in a car. This particular stretch contained the popular Central Theatre (中央戲院) which we can see on the left hand side in the top screen grab and then the guys turn up the alleyway at the side.

Here is a modern comparison courtesy of Streetview. In case you are wondering the address of this place is 270 - 276 Queen's Road Central.

The cinema has since been demolished and replaced by a building called Central Mansion. Many former buildings endure in name if not physically in HK - it might be a willful act of remembrance on the developer's part, but I suspect it is more of an act of convenience and expediency. Anyway, the upshot is a bunch of new buildings in HK with names that remember what use to be on the site. I digress...

The bottom two shots show us that inside the lobby of the theatre was the "Central Soda Fountain" or 中央冰室 (Jung Ying Bing Sat). A "bing sat" is really a type of HK style (retro) cafe that was popular before corporate America invaded :-) They've become a bit iconic, to the point where even aforementioned corporate America is getting in on the act.

Anyway, here is a picture to show what that part of the world looks like now. Behold, Central Mansion and the pace that was formerly occupied by Central Theatre and Soda Fountain (the alley is still there :-) )