Location Central, Hong Kong North end Queen's Road Central Completed 1899 Major cities Hong Kong | South end Ice House Street Completion 1899 Construction started 1875 | |
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Duddell Street (Chinese: 都爹利街; pinyin: Dūdiēlì Jiē; Cantonese Yale: dou1 de1 lei6 gaai1) is a small street located near the Lan Kwai Fong district in Central, Hong Kong. Named after George and Frederick Duddell, it stretches from Ice House Street to Queen's Road Central. The street is noted for containing the city's last four gas lamps.
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Map of Duddell St, Central, Hong Kong
History
This short street includes, at its southern end, a flight of granite steps that were built between 1875 and 1889; these lead up to Ice House Street. The street was named in honour of brothers George and Frederick Duddell. Both were landowners in the early days of the colony, having emigrated from Macau after the 1841 annexation of Hong Kong. George was an auctioneer and ultimately a significant property owner in the area around the present Duddell Street in the mid-19th century. When Frederick and his wife died, they were both buried back in Macau at the Old Protestant Cemetery.
Gas lamps
The street is famous for its four gas-powered street lamps. While all other street lamps in Hong Kong are now electric, these four still use town gas. The Hong Kong and China Gas Company continues the operation of the lamps as objects of historical interest. Duddell Street Steps and Gas Lamps are Declared monuments of Hong Kong.
Retail
In June 2009, Hong Kong retail design store G.O.D. collaborated with Starbucks and created a store with a "Bing Sutt Corner" at their store on Duddell Street. It is a concept that fuses the retro bing sutt, a Hong Kong teahouse style with the contemporary look of a coffeehouse.
In April 2012, the flagship store of clothing retailer Shanghai Tang was opened at 1 Duddell Street, known as the 'Shanghai Tang Mansion'. It is close to 1,400-square-metres in size and is the largest branch in the world, designed by Shanghai-based design firm Design MVW.