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Wing On鈥檚 annex building once one of the highest structures in Far East
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THE 19-floor annex of the Wing On Department Store that was constructed at the intersection of Hubei and Zhejiang roads was widely covered by the city’s English newspapers in 1932.
A report in the China Press said the new building provided five floors of additional space for general sales. The fifth floor and the extensive roof spaces were intended for amusement purposes, including a cinema, a tea garden and an open-air promenade space.
An important feature of the new store was a bridge that connected the store with the annex. The tower at the Nanjing Road intersection, containing the offices of managing directors, was one of the highest structures in the Far East.
“The general style of architecture proposed for the exterior was the modern style with vertical lines predominating. The lower storey is of Soochow granite up to a belt course at the sills of the first floor windows. Large shop windows are provided on all fronts with green marble bases below the plate glass and between the masonry pieces. The vertical piers will probably be of light colored cast stone or imitation stone plaster with moulded spandrils of metal above and below the steel casement sash. In the upper part of the tower will be provision for an interesting system of lighting, which is intended to add a new and higher note to the Shanghai skyline,” The China Press said in a June 9, 1932 report.
The new annex was built on the site of the old Chinese opera theater, Tien Zai Theater.
Today the building houses the state-run Seventh Heaven Hotel.
The name was derived from a former renowned restaurant in the annex.
Back in the 1930s, the observation gallery on the 19th floor allowed visitors to see the entire city including the former old town, today’s Zhabei District (now part of Jing’an District) and even the wide stretch of the Huangpu River on clear days.
It’s a perfect spot (but unfortunately not open to the public) to admire the entire stretch of Nanjing Road E. all the way to the Bund, graced by a galaxy of historical buildings on both sides.
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