Tuesday 14 July 2015

Sculptures on the wall

This cupid carrying a swan (or is it a goose) was part of the wall of a building at Wayang Street (expunged). The building must be at least be over 150 years old when it was demolished.  The little metal hook you see at the top of the cupid's head must have once held a spotlight so that little cupid gets a bit of attention. -- a spotlight such as this one here, on the wall of a shophouse at China Street (picture below), highlighting a flower bas-relief.


WONDER if all those nice sculptures on the walls of old buildings can be preserved when it's time for them to face the demolition ball? Perhaps they can be dismantled and put in the Museum of Asian Civilisation? Here are some interesting ones I have "preserved". I am sure there are many more interesting bas-reliefs on walls. Must take more walks soon.

The eagle has landed on this shophouse at China Street where you can find the original Hock Lam Beef restaurant.

This is one of my favourites, showing the old OCBC Bank trademark on a shophouse at South Bridge Road. 

Birds, dogs, monkeys, flowers, you can find them on the walls of this shophouse at Lorong Bachok, Geylang. 

And this pretty mirror graces the wall of a shophouse along Jalan Besar. An aside, three units of shophouses along Jalan Besar are on sale for $16.5m, reported The Straits Times today.  If only I were rich enough :)

Pop-up dragon on the wall of Nam Cheong Pawnshop in South Bridge Road. Nowadays, you have Maxi  Cash etc, and not as many Chinese pawn shops as before. Going by those old B&W Cantonese movies, pawn shops were extremely common in Hong Kong. Each time you don't have money to pay the rent, you trade your gold chain or jade bracelet for hard cash. Even a jacket or blanket would be enough to pay off debtors. Not sure pawn shops nowadays accept blankets?

A lion head guarding the entrance to the Chinese Weekly Entertainment Club at Club Street , founded by a wealthy Peranakan in 1891. 


5 comments:

streetsing said...

There are some nice sculptors in the Geylang area too:)

Lo Tien Yin said...

Yes, I am sure. Do you know which Lorongs would have more?

streetsing said...

I saw one with a pair of stone eagles, forgot to take note which lorong, some I think you already photographed :)

streetsing said...

If you take a walk from Lorong 1 onwards, all the odd number lorongs all the way to Paya Lebar fire-station will find plenty of interesting subjects and objects to photograph :) Saw a pair of stone eagles that you like I think it was lorong 11 or 13. Was so engrossed in street photography did not take note of where I was :)

Lo Tien Yin said...

OK, great. Was planning to revisit the area anyway :)