HKU Stories Row1

The Main Building

The Main Building is the oldest structure on the HKU Main Campus. This Edwardian Baroque-style building was designed by Alfred Bryer of Leigh & Orange. Construction began in 1910 and was completed in 1912.

The building was a gift from Sir Hormusjee N. Mody, a distinguished Parsi businessman and land developer in Hong Kong.

At the Foundation Stone Laying Ceremony on March 16, 1910, Sir Hormusjee presented a golden trowel to the then Governor, Sir Frederick Lugard, who used it to lay the foundation stone of the Main Building.

During its early days the Main Building housed all departments of the University, including administrative offices, lecture rooms, a library, a clinic, and even a temporary student hostel.

In December 1941 the Main Building was converted into a relief hospital due to the outbreak of war.

During the war, parts of it were badly looted; the roof of the Great Hall was removed and the timber used as fuel. Sir Lindsay Ride, Vice-Chancellor of HKU (1949 – 1964) recalled that many of the University's buildings, including the Main Building,

" … became roofless skeletons, stripped of equipment, furnishings and fittings, floors and stairs".

In the 1950s the Main Building was extended with the addition of two new courtyards and a further floor at the rear. In 1956, the Great Hall was renamed Loke Yew Hall in memory of Dr Loke Yew, an early benefactor of the University.

In 1984, the Main Building was declared a monument by the Hong Kong Government. Today, visitors to the Main Building can see the clock tower, four courtyards, and palm trees which are now over 30 feet tall. They will also find a bronze bust of Sir Hormusjee N. Mody on the main staircase and another of Dr Loke Yew on the second floor.

DECLARED MONUMENTS

Hung Hing Ying Building

Hung Hing Ying Building sits squarely in front of the Main Building. The central dome, entrance portico and balanced architectural proportions are strongly neoclassical, while its red brick walls complement the Edwardian Baroque aesthetics of the earlier Main Building. The building was opened in 1919, having been constructed with the support of Professor C.A. Middleton Smith, Sir Catchick Paul Chater and Professor G. P. Jordan, the Acting Vice-Chancellor of the University at the time. It was known as the Union Building.

After World War II, the Building was adapted for administrative purposes. In 1974, it was converted for use as a Senior Common Room for the University's academic and senior administrative staff, and later it housed the Department of Music until the Department moved to Run Run Shaw Tower, Centennial Campus.

In 1986 the Building was renamed in honour of Mr Hung Hing Ying, in recognition of his support of the University. In 1995 the Hung Hing Ying Building was declared a monument by the Hong Kong Government.

DECLARED MONUMENTS

University Hall

University Hall is located at 144 Pokfulam Road. The building is a source of much folklore. Originally named Douglas Castle, it was built around 1860 as the private residence of Douglas Lapraik, a Scottish trader and longtime resident of Hong Kong and Macau. It was purchased by the Missions Etrangères de Paris in 1894, renamed Nazareth House, and then used for many years as a residence for French missionaries and a printing house for bibles and religious texts.

The building was acquired by the University in 1953. In 1956, it became University Hall, a male student dormitory. It is well known for the pair of statues at the foot of the main staircase, which no student will dare touch. According to legend, those who touch the stone animals will fail their examinations.
The pair of statues, the spiral iron staircase, and the dedicated cook and hall helper affectionately known as “ Auntie Three” are regarded as the "Three Treasures at University Hall".

DECLARED MONUMENTS

Tang Chi Ngong Building

Tang Chi Ngong Building is a three-storey flat-roofed building with Shanghai plaster surfacing. It was opened in 1931 and made possible with a gift from Mr Tang Chi-Ngong. It was originally used to house the School of Chinese of the University.

The Building is unique in the University for the use of the letter "V" in place of the letter "U" as in "vniversity", reflecting a practice common for Latin stone inscriptions in the 1920s and 1930s. You will find the word "vniversity" appears on the stone arch, the façade, as well as on the stone tablet marking the Building's foundation date.

In 1995, the Building was declared a monument. It now houses the Jao Tsung-I Petite Ecole.