History of Shanghai Seagull Hotel

Shanghai Seagull Hotel, formerly known as Dongfeng Hotel, Shanghai International Sailors Club.

Originally known as Shanshai Club, also translated as Shanghai Club, it is also known as the British Club and the Royal Club.

Located at No. 2, Zhongshan East 1st Road, Shanghai, it was built in 1912. It was designed by Tallant and Maurice, and its interior design was by the Japanese heretic architect Kikutaro Shimoda.

It is a Baroque neoclassical work with double colonnades and a high chandelier hall, which serves as a stage for Shanghai diplomats.

Built in 1910, this is a typical British classical building. It was proud to have the longest bar in the East at that time, and its bar counter reached 110.7 feet. 34 meters.

After Shanghai opened as a port, the British, American, German, French and other general association buildings were successively built in the concession, among which the British Association was the earliest.

The British Association is called the Shanghai Association, also known as the Shanghai Club.

When it was first built in the first year of Tongzhi of the Qing Dynasty (1862), it was a British classical building with a three-story brick and wood structure, and the exterior walls were inlaid with red bricks. It was a three-story "East Indian style" that was popular at the time. architecture.

A club originally initiated by British expatriates in Shanghai.

For the first time, cement-based cementitious materials were used, breaking the uniform brick-wood structure of the Bund buildings at that time.

Opened in January 1910.

After liberation, the People's Liberation Army took over the building and converted it into the International Seamen's Club.

In 1971, the Shanghai General Building was turned into the Dongfeng Hotel;

In December 1989, Shanghai’s first KFC restaurant opened for business on the first floor of the Shanghai General Club;

< p> In 1998, the building was closed pending restoration;

Recently, the Shanghai General Assembly Building was renovated and re-opened as a high-end luxury hotel.

It was rebuilt in the early 20th century, covering an area of ??1,811 square meters and a construction area of ??9,280 square meters.

The building has six floors, and the first floor is the basement. It is 26.9 meters high and is very eye-catching.

The appearance of the building is a typical British classicism style. Its horizontal lines are well-handled, especially the horizontal lines, giving people a sense of balance, symmetry, and harmony.

The main axis of the ground floor is the main entrance, forming a symmetrical pattern on both sides. There were statues of goddesses on both sides of the original door, which have been destroyed.

There are 6 connected Ionic columns in the middle of the third and fourth floors, with protruding walls on the north and south sides. There are towers on the north and south ends of the fifth floor.

The wall decoration has a baroque touch.

The interior decoration is exquisite, the wood carvings are exquisite, and the plaster carvings on the top are often decorated with garlands or flower patterns. It is an elegant Baroque tower top, which has become a special mark of the building.

The interior decoration of the building was designed by a Japanese architect who worked for Ma Haihang. It was basically based on Dorante's original intention, but also referenced the decoration style of the Japanese Imperial Hotel. It is called "Oriental London". There are several decorations that imitate the British royal palace. For example, the billiard room has the style of decoration in the royal palace during the period of Queen Elizabeth I (1558-1603).

The bar is protected by oak walls and has the characteristics of the period of King James I (1603-1625), so it is known as the "Royal Club".

Back then, there was a bar and reading room on the first floor, a restaurant and banquet hall on the second floor, a hotel on the third and fourth floors, and utility rooms and staff dormitories on the fifth floor.

There is a bocce ball court in the basement.

Many original features have been retained inside the building. For example, the triangular elevator used in the building has a history of 480 years and was manufactured by Siemens.

Note: "Baidu Encyclopedia"