Central Police Station

The Quarters Block, built in 1864, is the oldest of the blocks and once contained the CP's office and provided accommodation for police officers. It has since been converted into a report room and changing area.

The four-storey Headquarters Block, built in 1919, has been designated a historical building. Its facade and outlook (with its two old launcher/cannons out front, and old trees) have been preserved and remain true to the earliest design. However, inside renovations have been made to accommodate the different uses of the block's various police departments.

The first two floors of the Headquarters Block were once the Command and Control Centre ¡Ð its security assured by the heavy iron gate that reaches the top of the next floor. Although the centre was removed in 1991, the gate remains.

The Officers' Mess is situated on the top floor of the Headquarters Block and is decorated with antique furniture, mementoes collected over the station's rich history and an old, customised rickshaw fire engine which serves as a reminder that the Force was once responsible for responding to fires. The head of the tiger shot in Sheung Shui in 1919, displayed in the Mess for 55 years, was later transferred to the Police Museum.

The Stable Block, which stands between the Headquarters and Quarters Blocks, was once the Force barracks but earned its name after the Japanese, who occupied the station in 1941 during WWII, turned it into a paddock for their horses.

The HKSAR flag waves above the central courtyard looking towards the Quarters Block as it is today

Bird's-eye view of the architecturally wonderful Central Police Station Headquarters Block

During the Japanese invasion of Hong Kong, the station sustained aerial bombing attacks, and to this day bears the scars in the form of shell holes at the front of the Headquarters Block. According to some retired police officers, prisoners captured by Japanese troops were once kept and tortured in the station, another page in the story of this historical building ¡Ð as is the little-known subway linking the Headquarters and Quarters Blocks ostensibly for security and defence purposes which has been long-sealed and remains unused today.

Perhaps the station's most well-known feature, though, is its central courtyard ¡Ð which has witnessed the numerous parades, inspections and award presentation ceremonies through the decades.

Thanks to Henry M S Ho, SP Traffic HKI, and Lee Kam-lun, SCO Headquarters HKI, for their input.