The Astor House was established by 'A glance of the map shows that the Mr, P, F, Richards in 1858, two years Astor House had. two approaches after the opening of the frst bridge from the foot of the bridge at Woo eros the Soochow Creek which sung Road: one alongside the Creek, Joined up the English with the so-Jand the other from Woosung to Tien-called American' Settlement. The dong Road and Hongkew Road which Duilding was of the usual "Hong" or was the name of Broadway of to-day "Compradore" type of those days, for that portion of the road up to the tworstorled structure with deep ver-Hongkew Creek, beyond which It was andah, devoid of any" architectural called Broadway or Taleo.
Pretence, and it" remained without 'There was no road north of the material' change until well into the present Garden" Bridge, Hongkew "Seventies."
Road having its start from the The Bridge. or Will's Bridge, after junction of Whangpoo and Astor the name of its builder, run in line Roads of to-day. Whangpoo Road with the Woosung Road, and. tolls then was on the river bank. the Con-were charged for crossing it. Tt was ular row and the wharve land which not until 1873 that the frst" Garden we see today were covered by water Bridge was built, shortly preceded at that time.
by the commutation of tolls which N-Raff to Shanghat became an intolerable nuisance and No reference to the early history'
for many years q source of irritation lof the Astor House would be com-to the foreign community, plete without a brief sketch of Hong.
Hongkew or the American Settlekew, The Taiping Rebellion brought, ment, as it was called. was not a to Shanghai many adventurers and settlement at all in the accepted when the rebellion was over 350 of term of the word, but simply a locality them remained, "making Hongkew selected by the American missionaries their chief abode. They were run-for their work: at first they built a away sailors, deserters and disbanded church, then they were followed by soldiers from General Gordon's army, some "American merchants, and the /men of all nations and creeds, Eng: frst American non-merchant Consul Ushmen. Americans, "Portuguese, moved over from the English Settie-Frenchmen and. Manilamen, armed ment in 1854, And so the Anierican Settlement started to grow, but it was not until daggers. for the most part with pistols and
'A number of them found employ-1662 that it was recognized by "the Jment in the numerous grog shops and. Chinese authorities as such, In that gambling houses, while the remainder veer its boundenes officially were made their living chiefly by robbery. defined by the Taotai and the Amer~ They infested the American Settle can Consul Seward, imentvof which the Bamboo City was Little to Boast About their favourite haunt, making also At the time of the opening of the regular raids on the English Seitle-Astor House, the American Settlement ment, and many a tale was told of had very few things to boast about, the exploits of this fraternity A drydock on the other side of "the collusion with some most. desperate Hongkew Creek, a church on the gangs of Cantonese, northwest corner of the present M. 8. Scout to the Rescue Broadway and Boone road and a They would lie in wait and pounce dozen or 30 of foreign houses besides Jupon anyone who might come along. that of the American Consular estab: especially upon strangers, in ishment which was then situated on Jdaytime. On one the Whangpoo river near the eastern Manilamen attempted to rob a British bank of the Hongkew creek, To the marine, who however put up a fight Fear of the Astor House in which he was soon joined by open country. full of swamps an several of his shipmates. Meantime 32 stagnant pools and dotted with some someone sent word to H. M. S. Scout wretched villages "here and there. who promptly dispatched a\ party Broadway itself was Dluejackets to the rescue, and when the party arrived a battle of major [proportions ensued in which about 80 The Astor House into came existence in distinguished company. {o @ Bamboo Town dwellers joined I the same year the Chartered Bank When the smoke of the battle of Australia, India and China opened Jcleared there remained several casual-its Shanghai office on Canton Road, {les on the battlefield. "The name of which was then called North Gate Bamboo Town has long disappeared Street. For 77 years both have taken from memory but its locality" still part, each in its own field. in the re-remains one of the meanest neigh-markable growth of Shanghai since bourhood in Hongkew, The present the. days when our predecessors Durpoe Road or that portion of it moved about in sedan chairs in. the between Tiendong and Woochang. narrow and muddy streets of the Roads cuts through the centre of it. As Hongkew. was under no muni-Hostels in Hongkew cipal control until. ity amalgamation 'There were two other hotels in with the English Settlement in 1863, Hongkew round—that period, the jand had no police. it became a haven Union Hotel, opposite H. Int. Consulate of refuge to all kinds of bad chat the Scamens' House, formerly acters, Chinese and foreign. When Hotel, on the other side of the the residents of that district, ove Hongkew Creek, both catering to come by the lawlessness of the place, Seamen. There "was also. Smith's made an appeal for amalgamation Hotel on the English side of the with the English Settlement there Yangkingpang Creek, "the present were mass protests on the part of the Avenue Edward Vil, but none Fesidents of the latter, and it was these places' had the' distinction with the Astor House which remained the: proposal finally was accepted. only hotel of repute for many years Oversion and Contempt 'A word or two must be said about Nevertheless. Hongkew continued the Commercial Hotel which " was to be looked upon with a mixture of closed in 1858 or in the same year aversion and contempt by the refs the Astor House was opened. The pectable dwellers of this side of the Commercial was the successor to the creek. Grog shops, disreputable Victoria Hotel or simply The Hotel. spectable dwellers of this side of the reference to which is made in the: type formed the general character of "North China Herald" as far back as that place, and for many years Hent 1850. "Tt had been the scheme of Kew remained a dangerous spot for many social and, business gatherings people walk alone at night. And even {in the earliest *days of the Settle daytime shops were closed when ment, and it stood on the site of the parties of sailors were allowed on resent Palace Hotel, a.remarkable shore. coincidence and a fact not generally known, Tin the "Seventies." Hongkew begun to gain importance as Tu 1860 the Astor House was sold shipping g, by Mr. Richards to Mr. Henry Smith, centre, and. towards the "Eighties" foreign residences and even. villas picturesque figure in the early days started to branch out In the direction of the Settlement. The "North-China of the Yangtzepoo Road. From a Herald" of that, year, in its June 2 sort of a Klondike of the East it fgue. bears an item announcing the begun, rather shyly, to take on @ new arrival of several guests to the hotel. face of respectability.
First Munletpal Map An. 1864-05 Municipal Council Map, Jdays of Hongksw only two have sur-OF all the. landmark of the early the Arst issued after the amalgamavived to this day, the Astor House ton of the two settlements, shows the and Durpoe Road or the Bamboo location of the Astor House precisely town Street of the carly sixteles—' fon the same spot where it stands to-JOne with three quarters of a century's day. 'The map of Hongkew greatly Tong and useful career behind it, changed by that time, owing to the and the other still" a narrow and. overflowing during' the Taiping ithy lane and a wretched memorial Rebellion of 1860-1863 of many to a miserable past. thousands of refugees from the Eng-Settlement into the American.
Tue Swedish scientist, Dr. Sven Several new roads appeared with Hedin, at present staying in Leipzig some 4,000 newly built Chinese recently received representatives houses. 'The population greatly inthe German Bible Society, who, creased despite of the exodus. which recognition of his services as eclentist, took place after.' the rebellion was friend of Germany and Christian, over, amounting to over 17,000 Chinese awarded him the Luther Mask. The and 857 foreigners, exclusive of "boat.
Archbishop of Canterbuxy and Dr. population and vagrants" os the first Sven Hedin are the only foreigners Munteipal Council Census of 1865 to whom this mark of esteem has termed it, been given.
Text read from the printed page and cleaned; old type leaves the occasional error.