ULI Hong Kong Young Leaders Group toured to the State Theatre (former Empire Theatre) – a Grade 1 Historic Building with 68 years of history located at King’s Road, North Point before its closure for a revitalization project. The former cinema was opened in 1952 and is Hong Kong’s last standing post-war theatre building. Its captivating parabolic exoskeleton structure on the roof is said to be unique in Asia that bears witness to the history of North Point once dubbed “Little Shanghai”.

Before its 4-year restoration project, public were able to explore the iconic venue through an immersive 30-minutes guided tour “Discover the State Theatre in All of Us”, curated by Culture for Tomorrow, a non-profit organization under the New World Group.

In the exhibition led by staff in theatre uniform, more than 100 historical artefacts were shown, including vintage-style movie ticket, old movie posters, lightboxes and movie handbills. Visitors were able to travel back in time to the building’s golden age in the 1950s, while studying the cultural landscape of the older days.

The iconic venue will be closing for a meticulous architectural conservation project and is expected to return by 2026 as a new cultural performing arts landmark in town.

About ULI HK YLG Reinjecting Purpose into Real Estate Series:

Recent social unrest and worldwide pandemic called to action numerous topics for the Hong Kong community to address in order to stay forefront as a global city. We see many opportunities for leaders in the development scene and local interest groups to come together and redefine what we do to create shared and added values that innovate the way we think, work, and live.

Through this series, we hope to connect interests and raise awareness with social innovation, new modes of collaboration that break traditional institutional boundaries for the greater good of the Hong Kong community.