Hong Kong House
| Hong Kong House | |
|---|---|
Hong Kong House in 2007.
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 Location in Greater Sydney
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| Former names | Central Hotel Gresham Hotel |
| General information | |
| Type | Commercial hotel/offices |
| Architectural style | Victorian Free Classical style. |
| Address | 80 Druitt Street |
| Town or city | Sydney, New South Wales |
| Country | Australia |
| Coordinates | 33°52′21″S 151°12′23″E / 33.87263°S 151.20629°ECoordinates: 33°52′21″S 151°12′23″E / 33.87263°S 151.20629°E |
| Completed | 1891 |
| Client | Excelsior Land Investment and Building Company and Bank Limited |
| Owner | Government of Hong Kong |
| Design and construction | |
| Architect | Ambrose Thornley |
| Main contractor | Edward Johnson |
| Official name | Gresham Hotel |
| Designated | 2 April 1999 |
| Reference no. | 00291 |
Hong Kong House, also known since 1995 as the Hong Kong Economic and Trade Office, Sydney, is a landmark heritage building and former hotel in the Sydney central business district. Built in 1891 to a design by Ambrose Thornley, it is located on 80 Druitt Street, at the corner with York Street, and is adjacent to other prominent heritage landmarks, the Sydney Town Hall and the Queen Victoria Building. In addition to the Hong Kong Economic and Trade Office, Hong Kong House also houses the office of the Hong Kong Tourism Board in Australasia, Invest Hong Kong and the office of the Hong Kong Trade Development Council.
In 1888 the Excelsior Land, Building and Investment Company and Bank Limited held a competition for the design of a hotel and banking premises on the site. The competition was subsequently won by architect Ambrose Thornley, with his final design submitted in June 1890 and labelled "Central Hotel". By the late 1900s, the hotel had been renamed the "Gresham Hotel" and in 1896 a branch of the City Bank of Sydney had been opened on the ground level of the building. In 1925 the hotel was bought by Tooth and Co.. When the City Bank of Sydney was bought out, the bank became a branch of the Australian Bank of Commerce in 1918, and later a branch of the Bank of New South Wales when they bought the Bank of Commerce in 1931. In the late 1980s the "Gresham Hotel" was converted to offices and since 1995 has housed the Hong Kong Economic and Trade Office.
The building is listed on the New South Wales State Heritage Register and the (now defunct) Register of the National Estate, with its interior listed in the City of Sydney Local Environmental Plan. A plaque commemorating the building's history and continuing association with Hong Kong was unveiled on 23 June 2011 by Governor of NSW, Marie Bashir, and Hong Kong Chief Executive, Donald Tsang. In late 2014, during the "Umbrella" protests in Hong Kong, the street-level frontages of Hong Kong House were covered with yellow, pink and blue Post-it notes containing messages of solidarity with the protests.
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