Hollywood Road

Hollywood Road

Hollywood Road – view from near PMQ
Length	1.0 km (0.6 mi)
West end	Queen's Road West
East end	Arbuthnot Road / Wyndham Street
Construction
Completion	1844

Hollywood Road is a street in Central and Sheung Wan, on Hong Kong Island, Hong Kong. The street runs between Central and Sheung Wan, with Wyndham Street, Arbuthnot Road, Ladder Street, Upper Lascar Row, and Old Bailey Street in the vicinity.

Hollywood Road was the second road to be built when the colony of Hong Kong was founded, after Queen's Road Central. It was the first to be completed. The Man Mo Temple was a place for trial in very early years.

Hollywood Road was put up early in 1844, before the more famous Hollywood in California was settled. The street runs between Central and Sheung Wan, with Wyndham Street, Arbuthnot Road, Ladder Street, Upper Lascar Row, and Old Bailey Street in the vicinity.

It was probably named by Sir John Francis Davis, the second Governor of Hong Kong, after his family home at Westbury-on-Trym, near Bristol, England. Another origin mentioned for the name is that holly shrubs were growing in the area when the road was constructed. Such plants were not indigenous to the area and would have been imported.

Hollywood Road was the second road to be built when the colony of Hong Kong was founded, after Queen's Road Central. It was the first to be completed. Like most major roads in the early years of the colony, Hollywood Road was built by the Royal Engineers. More than 100 years ago, Hollywood Road was rather close to the coastline. In those days, foreign merchants and sailors would put up the antiques and artefacts they "collected" from China for sale here on their way back to Europe. This is how Hollywood Road began its role as an antique market. The 1960 Hollywood film The World of Suzie Wong was shot in part in Hollywood Road. An old wood-built building was re-constructed as a bar for the movie.