Fears of demolition for historic State Theatre building in North Point: heritage group calls for preservation
Walk in Hong Kong co-founder fears that property firm will redevelop State Theatre Building, which once hosted Taiwan diva Teresa Teng
A Hong Kong heritage tour group is calling on the city’s preservation body to assess the historic value of the State Theatre Building in North Point as soon as possible amid fears that it is being bought for private redevelopment.
Located at the corner of King’s Road and Tin Chong Street on Hong Kong Island, the State Theatre Building is best known for the iconic parabola-arched structures on its roof.
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According to records from the Antiquities Advisory Board, the former theatre building has been on the board’s list of buildings for assessment since September last year. But the board’s expert panel has yet to propose a grading for it.
“What I worry about the most is the theatre will be torn down just like Tung Tak Pawn Shop,” said Haider Kikabhoy, co-founder of Walk In Hong Kong, a tour group which has been leading heritage walks in the city since 2013. “It is the responsibility of the Antiquities Advisory Board to do justice to the building. They should make the State Theatre a monument.”
The complex contains a shopping mall, a snooker club and about 200 residential flats.
