Looking at Central District Police Headquarters you can almost imagine Sherlock Holmes striding out the door puffing his pipe – it’s a perfect piece of Victorian architecture. Built in 1913, it’s an imposing building with wide verandas and a columned entrance that reflects the brazen swagger of Britain during its colonial heyday. It was originally erected in answer to increasing lawlessness in the colony after floods of penniless refugees arrived from mainland China.
The cops have since moved on to more modern digs in Wan Chai while the building is slated to be commercially developed, supposedly retaining elements of its heritage. The handsome blue and white building next door is Victoria Prison where you could once watch prisoners being led across the walkways while you tucked into your Dim Sum below. It too is set for redevelopment.
That’s the end of our tour. Walk back down Wyndham Street and descend into Lan Kwai Fong for a well earned pint in Bar George, a boozer that could have walked here from the backstreets of London.
