Sai Ying Pun Community Complex

[[Image:HK High Street Western b 2.jpg|thumb|300px| Sai Ying Pun Community Complex has a Victorian facade with a modern building superimposed on it]] '''Sai Ying Pun Community Complex''' is located at 2 [[High Street, Hong Kong|High Street]], [[Sai Ying Pun]], [[Hong Kong]]. It is a 9-storey building built on the site of the Old Mental Hospital, of which only the granite facade and arched verandah were preserved. ==History== The Old Mental Hospital was built in 1891. It was used as a quarters for the European nursing staff of the Civil Hospital (1846-1937) until the [[World War II]]. The building was a female block of the mental hospital in the 1940s. It continued to function as such until the Castle Peak Mental Hospital opened in 1961, and switched back as a day treatment centre for psychiatric out-patients until 1971. ===High Street Ghost House=== Tales of ghostly sightings were spread since it was abandoned in the 1970s. Therefore, it is popular known as "High Street Ghost House" or ''Haunted House in High Street'']]. [[Image:HK High Street Western b 2.jpg|thumb|300px| Sai Ying Pun Community Complex has a Victorian facade with a modern building superimposed on it]] '''Sai Ying Pun Community Complex''' is located at 2 [[High Street, Hong Kong|High Street]], [[Sai Ying Pun]], [[Hong Kong]]. It is a 9-storey building built on the site of the Old Mental Hospital, of which only the granite facade and arched verandah were preserved. ==History== The Old Mental Hospital was built in 1891. It was used as a quarters for the European nursing staff of the Civil Hospital (1846-1937) until the [[World War II]].[http://www.amo.gov.hk/form/brief_information_grade1.pdf Brief information_grade1.pdf Brief Information on Proposed Grade 1 Items] Originally, it contains only 10 bedrooms for the nurses, a matron's office, a chemical laboratory, 12 servants' quarters and other living, dining, kitchen, office and storage facilities. In the 1940s, the east wing was extended and six more arches were added to the original north facade, containing 18 arches with a pediment marking the middle and [[turret]]s at the ends to form a classically proportioned structure, during an extension uphill. The building was used to accommodate staff in 1941. ===Mental Hospital=== It was turned into a mental hospital after the war. In 1947, this mental hospital was the only one of its type in the city when the population in Hong Kong was one and a half million. The building was a female block of the mental hospital in the 1940s. It continued to function as such until the Castle Peak Mental Hospital opened in 1961, and switched back as a day treatment centre for psychiatric out-patients until 1971. ===High Street Ghost House=== Tales of ghostly sightings were spread since it was abandoned in the 1970s. Therefore, it is popular known as "High Street Ghost House" or ''Haunted House in High Street'']]. [[Image:HK High Street Western b 2.jpg|thumb|300px| Sai Ying Pun Community Complex has a Victorian facade with a modern building superimposed on it]] '''Sai Ying Pun Community Complex''' is located at 2 [[High Street, Hong Kong|High Street]], [[Sai Ying Pun]], [[Hong Kong]]. It is a 9-storey building built on the site of the Old Mental Hospital, of which only the granite facade and arched verandah were preserved. ==History== The Old Mental Hospital was built in 1891. It was used as a quarters for the European nursing staff of the Civil Hospital (1846-1937) until the [[World War II]].[http://www.amo.gov.hk/form/brief_information_grade1.pdf Brief information_grade1.pdf Brief Information on Proposed Grade 1 Items] Originally, it contains only 10 bedrooms for the nurses, a matron's office, a chemical laboratory, 12 servants' quarters and other living, dining, kitchen, office and storage facilities. In the 1940s, the east wing was extended and six more arches were added to the original north facade, containing 18 arches with a pediment marking the middle and [[turret]]s at the ends to form a classically proportioned structure, during an extension uphill. The building was used to accommodate staff in 1941. ===Mental Hospital=== It was turned into a mental hospital after the war. In 1947, this mental hospital was the only one of its type in the city when the population in Hong Kong was one and a half million. The building was a female block of the mental hospital in the 1940s. It continued to function as such until the Castle Peak Mental Hospital opened in 1961, and switched back as a day treatment centre for psychiatric out-patients until 1971. ===High Street Ghost House=== Tales of ghostly sightings were spread since it was abandoned in the 1970s. Therefore, it is popular known as "High Street Ghost House" or ''Haunted House in High Street'']].[http://www.amo.gov.hk/form/brief_information_grade1.pdf Brief information_grade1.pdf Brief Information on Proposed Grade 1 Items]. This building became the haunt of curious teenagers and drug addicts who used the [[methadone]] clinic nearby before the reconstruction, because the building remained unoccupied for 20 years from 1970s.[http://www.amo.gov.hk/form/brief_information_grade1.pdf Brief information_grade1.pdf Brief Information on Proposed Grade 1 Items]. It fell into disrepair and was badly ruined by two fires, which were believed to be inadvertently started by trespassers. The Hong Kong Government decided in 1990s to keep the [[façade]] and rebuild a community centre within. In 2001, work was finally completed. Therefore, only the north façade of the historic building is restored and preserved during the construction of Sai Ying Pun Community Complex as the historic building is the only specimen of its kind in Hong Kong. The remains of the historic building is a [[List of Grade I historic buildings in Hong Kong|Grade I Historic Building]]. It is part of the [[Central and Western Heritage Trail]]. ==Facilities== There is a community hall in the Sai Ying Pun Community Complex. It now houses several charity organizations, which provide services to the local community. ==See also== * [[Facadism]] * [[King George V Memorial Park, Hong Kong]] * [[The Nesbitt Centre]] * [[List of Grade I historic buildings in Hong Kong]] ==External links== {{commons|Category:Sai Ying Pun Community Complex|Sai Ying Pun Community Complex}} *[http://www.building.com.hk/feature/07_01syp.htm Sai Ying Pun Community Complex: Rehabilitation] *[http://www.amo.gov.hk/en/trails_west1.php?tid=20 Old Mental Hospital (Sai Ying Pun Community Complex Community Hall)] {{coord missing|Hong Kong}}