Named after the Duke of Wellington, Wellington Street is one of the oldest in Hong Kong. Laid out in the early years of the colony, it was classed as part of Victoria - present-day Central - which was reserved for Europeans, and was lined with the homes and offices of Westerners. From the late 1870s, with the Westerners heading up hill to Caine and Robinson roads, the wealthy Chinese merchants started moving into the district east of Aberdeen Street, buying up properties from Western merchants and converting them into tenements for the Chinese. New businesses opened, owned by Chinese, Indians and Parsees.
It was, and is, a street teeming with life. The businesses have changed little. From about 1880, tailors, cobblers, tobacconists, picture framers, furniture makers and importers filled the eastern end of the street while the western end was taken up by Chinese food stores, restaurants and rice shops. More than a century later, there are still plenty of furniture shops and fashion retailers at the eastern end; picture framers have migrated west, where there are many Chinese restaurants and food stores.
Antiques shops, ivory and mahjong factories also became prominent during the 1970s. The mahjong factories have since disappeared, although there are still a handful of shops near Aberdeen Street.
The nature of the businesses may be similar but the buildings have changed dramatically. Many sites have been redeveloped at least four times since the birth of the street. Some buidlings were torn down during World War II, when the street was bombed twice by the Japanese. However, a few original buildings remain. Probably the best maintained is No.99, a century-old, three-storey building which currently houses a bakery, an art gallery and a property agency.
California Fitness now stands on the site of the former tabloid newspaper the China Mail. It opened in 1845, and was the third English-language newspaper in the colony: it was preceded by the Hong Kong Gazette and Friends Of China. Supported by Jardine Matheson, it started as a weekly publication before becoming a daily, afternoon newspaper. Publication ceased during World War II, after which it was bought by the South China Morning Post. It moved from Wellington Street to Tong Chong Street, Quarry Bay, in 1970 and closed down in 1974.
Located between D'Aguilar Street and Pottinger Street, the Church of Immaculate Conception was the first Catholic church in Hong Kong. Built in 1843, or thereabouts, it was demolished in 1888 and moved to its current site as the Cathedral of Immaculate Conception on Caine Road.
Opened three months ago by Michael Wong, the owner of independent record label Mad Music, DJ Station (3/F, 28 Wellington Street) specialises in pop and dance releases and has become a fashionable hang-out for professional and amateur DJs. The shop prides itself on having the SAR's largest and most up-to-date collection of 12-inch vinyl records and CD singles: new releases arrive weekly. You're welcome to listen before you buy. Opening hours: midday - 9pm, Monday - Saturday.
