Old Dairy Farm Depot

The Old Dairy Farm Depot, or Old Dairy Farm Building, is a building in Central, Hong Kong, which currently houses the Hong Kong Fringe Club (South Block) and the Foreign Correspondents' Club (North Block). It is located at 2 Lower Albert Road. The back of the building is located along Wyndham Street, while its edge faces Glenealy.[1]

Old Dairy Farm Depot
舊牛奶公司倉庫
A view of the curved, striped end of the South Block from Glenealy
General information
StatusLeased – arts venue & clubhouse
Architectural styleLate Victorian eclectic
ClassificationGrade I declared monument
LocationHong Kong
Address2 Lower Albert Road, Central
Current tenantsNorth Foreign Correspondents' Club
South Fringe Club
Construction started1890
Renovated1913
LandlordGovernment Property Agency
Design and construction
Architecture firmDanby & Leigh
Main contractorDairy Farm
Renovating team
Awards and prizesAntiquities & Monuments Office's Award of Merit
Old Dairy Farm Depot
Traditional Chinese舊牛奶公司倉庫
Old Dairy Farm Building
Traditional Chinese舊牛奶公司寫字樓
The Old Dairy Farm Depot along Wyndham Street. Lower Albert Road is on the right.
Entrance of the Hong Kong Fringe Club, Lower Albert Road.
The Foreign Correspondents' Club.

History

In 1892, Dairy Farm built a low-rise brick and stucco building on Lower Albert Road in Central for use as a cold storage warehouse. It was designed by Danby & Leigh (now Leigh & Orange).[2] The original depot only comprised about half (the southern part) of the present premises. This warehouse was later renovated and expanded in 1913, 1917 and 1925 to include a dairy shop, a room for meat smoking, a cold storage room for winter clothes and residency for the general manager. The building later evolved into the company headquarters until the company moved in the 1970s.[3]

The Foreign Correspondent's Club started occupying the North Block in 1982. The South Block was acquired by the Hong Kong Fringe Club in 1984.[3] It has undergone many major renovations since the Fringe Club moved in, in 1983.

Architecture

The building is built in the Eclectic architectural style with strong Neoclassical and some Arts and Crafts influence. The facade features polychromatic "bandaged" brickworks.[3]

Conservation

The building is located along the Central and Western Heritage Trail.[4] It was listed as a Grade II historic building in 1981, and as a Grade I historic building in 2009.[5] The project of renovation and refurbishment of the Old Dairy Farm Building and its conversion into the Hong Kong Fringe Club was a winner of the 2001 Hong Kong Heritage Awards, organised by the Antiquities Advisory Board and the Antiquities and Monuments Office.[6]

References
  1. Hong Kong Fringe Club – Where We Are
  2. "From British Colonization to Japanese Invasion" (PDF). HKIA Journal (45: 50 years of Hong Kong Institute of Architects): 45. 30 May 2006.
  3. "Brief Information on Proposed Grade 1 Items. Item #68" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 16 October 2012. Retrieved 17 March 2012.
  4. Antiquities and Monuments Office: Central and Western Heritage Trail: Old Dairy Farm Building
  5. Antiquities and Monuments Office: List of the Historic Buildings in Building Assessment Archived 22 September 2013 at the Wayback Machine (as of 23 November 2011)
  6. Winning Entries of Hong Kong Heritage Awards (2001)

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