(Camera: Ricoh GX200) There is a cluster of pre-war residential buildings lying to the north of the MTR Kwun Tong Station. They are centrally situated in the image of the Monday post of this week. For anyone who has a penchant for admiring old construction features, seldom can the Chinese saying, “Seeing once is better than hearing a hundred times” be so freely and readily fulfilled in the case of these buildings which, unlike those in Mongkok for example, are neither guarded by doorpersons or fitted with entrance gates or door locks of whatever sort.
Inside the building, the special features lying before your eyes include the unmistakable mosaic-style wall and floor tiles, the aluminium mailboxes with the pattern of two “Hole-Square Coins” (a colloquially way of saying “copper money” used in the Chinese dynastic years) on them, the haphazard lining of the public utility wires and the wooden handle for the staircase. A visit to a few more of such buildings will show evidence of the trendiness of these décors and features in the best days the buildings saw during their life cycles.
Inside the building, the special features lying before your eyes include the unmistakable mosaic-style wall and floor tiles, the aluminium mailboxes with the pattern of two “Hole-Square Coins” (a colloquially way of saying “copper money” used in the Chinese dynastic years) on them, the haphazard lining of the public utility wires and the wooden handle for the staircase. A visit to a few more of such buildings will show evidence of the trendiness of these décors and features in the best days the buildings saw during their life cycles.
Another must-see is the aging elevator. However, the most special one the author has tried is in an old residential building in Jordan. Some of these old automatic lifts go in feeble movement with occasionally jolts on the way. But it is always tempting to take a bit of a risk to hop in one to check if it still functions properly.
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