For Mountain Lodge, the colonial governor's Peak summer residence, it was a case of third time lucky.
The first two efforts to build a summer getaway for the governor, high above the humid lower reaches of Hong Kong Island, ended in disaster. The first, converted from a sanatorium for troops, was wrecked in a typhoon and the second fell into disrepair near the end of 19th century.
The last lodge to stand on the site that is now Victoria Peak Garden was completed in 1902 and boasted a billiards room, a boudoir, schoolroom, many bedrooms, dressing rooms and verandahs and a lightning conductor on each of its four towers.
At the start of the steep road up to it was Gate Lodge, which was declared a monument in 1995.
But Mountain Lodge, 150 metres above what is now the Peak Tower, was not a hit with governors as it took so long to get to it by the only means of transport available at the time - the sedan chair.
A second summer residence was built in Fanling in 1934 and visited far more frequently by governors as it was more accessible. The mansion on the Peak was effectively abandoned and became infested with termites.
