Hong Kong Immigration Life: The Government of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region announced on the 23rd that the Antiquities Authority (the Secretary for Development) has declared the Signal Tower at Blackhead Point in Tsim Sha Tsui, the Race Course Fire Memorial in So Kon Po, and the façade of the Old Mental Hospital in Sai Ying Pun as statutory monuments under the Antiquities and Monuments Ordinance. The relevant notice was gazetted on the same day.
The Signal Tower at Blackhead Point in Tsim Sha Tsui was built by the Hong Kong Observatory in 1907 to house the time ball previously located in the round house of the former Marine Police Headquarters. It is one of the two buildings in Hong Kong constructed specifically to provide accurate time signals to mariners and the public. The time ball in the Signal Tower provided time-signaling services from January 8, 1908, to June 30, 1933.
The Race Course Fire Memorial was built in 1922 to commemorate the victims of the Happy Valley Racecourse fire on February 26, 1918, which occurred on the second day of the annual race meeting. Located on the hillside above the Hong Kong Stadium, it is the only memorial in Hong Kong dedicated to the victims of this tragedy.
The Old Mental Hospital at 2 High Street was completed in 1892 and was initially used as quarters for hospital staff. From 1939 to 1961, the building served as a ward for the Mental Hospital at 45 Eastern Street, hence it was also known as the "Mental Hospital." In 1998, the redevelopment of the Old Mental Hospital into the Sai Ying Pun Community Complex began, but the rare granite façade was preserved. This historic façade bears witness to the development of psychiatric medical services in Hong Kong.