Conservation Team Uncovers Remnants of "Little Shanghai” at State Theatre

New World Development announced on Friday that their conservation team had uncovered three remnants of “Little Shanghai” at the State Theatre.

In 2020, New World Development announced a six-year restoration and conservation project for the Grade I historic building, the State Theatre, a cultural landmark in the 1950s and 1960s, also known as “Little Shanghai”, where many renowned local and international musicians performed.

It had undergone many internal modifications that has dramatically altered and masked its original form.

As part of the project, the conservation team has begun the meticulous demolition of these modifications, which is gradually unveiling the original form of the State Theatre, and recently uncovered three significant remnants that showcase the unique and beautiful fusion of Eastern and Western cultures that “Little Shanghai” once stood for.

One of the highlighted discoveries is the former nightclub “Empire Restaurant Night Club.” Its curved wall was found during the excavation of the foundation, and an architectural plan review confirmed that the wall belonged to the architectural remains of the Empire Restaurant Night Club.

When it opened in 1955, it was a restaurant specializing in Sichuan cuisine and a popular performance venue for top singers such as Mona Fong, Chang Lu, and Carrie Koo. It was best known as the debut venue of renowned Shanghai-born singer Rebecca Pan, highlighting State Theatre’s heritage as a premier entertainment and performance venue.

The conservation team also discovered two facility remnants at the State Theatre that were believed to be designed for discerning customers. One is a staircase adjacent to the Dress Circle on the third floor, where an Otis manual lift was found. This lift, extremely rare for theatres back then, allowed customers to move in and out of the Dress Circle.

Additionally, markings indicating parking areas were found on columns at the basement level, proving that the State Theatre did indeed house the first covered car park in the Far East for affluent patrons with cars.

The conservation team also collected over 200 paint samples from the site, which were sent to the UK for analysis. The analysis revealed that the State Theatre had been painted in various colors over the years, with green, red, and blue being the featured colors when the theatre opened in 1952.

They are aiming to preserve all the remnants of the State Theatre carefully, and will explore ways to incorporate these historical and cultural elements, such as the colors, to recreate the State Theatre as a “Modern Heritage” site that seamlessly blends the past with the present.

New World Development is hosting the immersive theatre dinner “State Soirée 2023” at the prestigious private members club HKGTA Town Club in New World Tower in Central to raise public awareness about the State Theatre.

Held in collaboration with title sponsor Hang Seng Bank, the event is inspired by historical findings from the State Theatre collected over the past three years and features a captivating performance by a talented millennial dance troupe and band, with a storyline that revolves around a young dancer from Shanghai who came to Hong Kong to pursue her dreams of becoming a performer.

+1