Statue Square: Hong Kong’s ‘showpiece’ park for people, not cars
- Plans for a ‘modern park’ were criticised with demands for more grass and less concrete
- The space was originally designated for public use under an agreement between the government and HSBC
“Car Park May Be Eliminated in Statue Square,” ran a South China Morning Post headline on July 9, 1964.
“Plans by Government and the Hongkong and Shanghai Banking Corporation jointly to redevelop Statue Square as a public garden are understood to include the present car park next to the Mandarin Hotel,” the story continued.
“Evidently, Government must decide whether the need for public open space in the Central area is greater than that for the parking of cars,” said A de O Sales, chairman of the Urban Council’s Urban Amenities Select Committee.
“The only objectors to the scheme, however, are likely to be those motorists who have been using the parking space now available there,” noted the Post. “Statue Square is, after all, Hongkong’s showpiece and with that existing shortage of open space in the Central area every blade of grass counts and every area free from traffic becomes a pedestrian haven.”
Plans for a “modern park”, including gardens, lawns, fountains and rest facilities, were published on September 23, 1965.