Star St Precinct, Wanchai

 

Star St Precinct is located at the western end of Wanchai just adjacent to Admiralty, this quiet tucked away neighborhood is easily accessible via an underground pathway from the Admiralty MTR station or just a short walk from the Johnston Road Wanchai station exit.

The area comprises of small quaint streets including Wing Fung Street, Star Street, Moon Street, Sun Street, Electric Street, St Francis Street and the Sau Wa Fong square. This area while unassuming is rich with history, in 1889, on Electric St and THE corner of Wing Fung St was the site of Hong Kong’s first ever power station, commissioned by Hong Kong Electric and designed by electrical engineer William Wickham. The power station was a 50 kilowatt (or 67 Horsepower) coal-fired power plant, and on 1 December 1890 at 6:00 p.m. this small plant lit up Hong Kong's first electric street lights in the Central Business District.

With the opening of the Electric plant the surrounding streets were aptly named in accordance to the Three-Character Chinese classic verse of "Three luminaries – the sun, the moon and the stars", the three major elements that generate electricity and luminescence according to the verse. The electric plant was a great success and paved the way for Hong Kong Electric’s development throughout 1900’s and even as of now, Hong Kong Electric is Hong Kong Island’s sole electricity provider.

In 1922 the plant was later decommissioned, and the area remained relatively untouched even throughout Hong Kong’s rapid post world war commercial success and development. Until in 1988 Swire Properties undertook one of their most ambitious plan to buy in and revitalize the Star Street area which at the time was adjacent to their prime development site that was to become an upscale Shopping, hotel and office development or Pacific Place as we know it today. Inspired by the London Covent gardens the conglomerate undertook the gentrification of this overlooked neighborhood and even redesigning its own street signs for the area that remain unique to the Star Street Precinct till this day.

With full credit to Swire, today, these quiet streets and refurbished low rise buildings provide plenty of retail fronts accommodating cafes, bars, restaurants and bespoke designer goods while the larger and more modern residential apartments and commercial complex Pacific Place 3 are on the sidelines and don’t intrude or impose.

The star street precinct is the best example of how an area in Hong Kong can be nurtured and modernized while retaining its own unique identity and historical charm, with its perfect blend of the old and new, walking through the neighborhood is like an oasis in-between the highly congested Wanchai and the stale commercial atmosphere of Admiralty.