Ladder streets
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Ladder streets are narrow streets in Hong Kong comprising steps. Most are found between Central and Sheung Wan and Mid-Levels on Hong Kong Island, from Queen's Road Central, through Hollywood Road and a few other cross streets, to Caine Road at the Mid-Levels. Other ladder streets exist outside of the immediate Mid-Levels area, such as Sands Street in Kennedy Town.
Note that there is indeed a street named Ladder Street, composed entirely of stone steps, in Sheung Wan.
While some ladder streets are made only of traditional steps, some at a moderate incline have portions that could be traversed with a rickshaw or cart. These portions had raised stones perpendicular to the street at regular intervals acting like a ratchet so that carts and rickshaws could be easily stopped and parked. This kind of paving can be found on Pottinger Street.
The Duddell Street steps were declared a monument by the Antiquities and Monuments Office.<ref>Declared Monuments in Hong Kong. Antiquities & Monuments Office, Leisure & Cultural Services Department, Government. 13 October 2017. Retrieved 2018-02-07.</ref>
HistoryEdit
Shortly after their arrival in Hong Kong, the British built administrative buildings on the northern shore of the island, in the area which came to be called Victoria and later called Central. The water met the island at what is now Queen's Road. There was no flat land, so during the brief tenure of Sir Henry Pottinger, the first governor of the colony, from 1841 to 1844, streets of steps were planned. The first recorded ladder street was built between Queen's Road and Gough Street in 1845. Remaining ladder streets steps are some of the very oldest structures in the territory.<ref name=Stair>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>
The streets were originally made with the local pink granite. Most have been replaced with concrete.<ref name=Stair/>
Ladder streetsEdit
- Old Pottinger Street.jpg
Pottinger St 1930s
- Pottinger Street.JPG
Pottinger St 2005
- HongKong street.JPG
Mee Lun St 2005
- Aberdeen Street at Queen's Road Central.jpg
Aberdeen St 2006
- HK SW Pound Lane stairs.jpg
Pound Ln 2006
- HK Hollywood Rd old shoe maker.jpg
Lane off Hollywood Rd 2006
- Sands Street, Hong Kong 1.jpg
Sands St 2007
- HK Sheung Wan Tai Ping Shan Street Kwong Fook I Tsz 2.JPG
Tai Ping Shan St 2008
- HK TaiPingShanStreet Steps.JPG
Tai Ping Shan St 2008
- Sands street stairs.jpg
Sands St 2009
- HK Sheung Wan Hollywood Road Mee Lun Street Stone Icon 03.JPG
Mee Lun St 2009
- Duddell Street Steps and Gas Lamps.JPG
Duddell St 2013
- Sands Street Pedestrian Link (escalator).JPG
Sands St 2014
- HK 北角半山 North Point Mid-Levels 雲景道 41 Cloud View Road Wan Tin Path outside stairs Apr-2014 view 雲景大廈 Glen Circuit.JPG
Wan Tin Path 2014
- HK Sheung Wan 上環 磅巷 Pound Lane stairs tree Feb-2016 DSC 008.JPG
Pound Ln 2016
- HK 上環 Sheung Wan 樓梯街 Ladder Street stairs October 2017 IX1 construction site.jpg
Ladder St 2017
See alsoEdit
ReferencesEdit
External linksEdit
- Travel in the Far East from Time Magazine
- Hong Kong Street Markets
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