The Jewish Recreation Club in Photos

 

The second Jewish Recreation Club was constructed in the early 1950s, replacing the first club which was destroyed during the Battle of Hong Kong (8–25 December 1941). It served the community until 1992, when the site was cleared for the Robinson Place complex and the new Jewish Community Centre.

 

Historical Photos

The Hong Kong Public Libraries holds a series of photos of the old Club, taken in 1989 and 1990:

 

 

Special thanks to Sarah Li for providing this personal photo taken in the 1960s by her father, Mr. Li Hin-Tai:

 

Share Your Memories

We are always seeking to expand this historical record. If you have any photos of the Jewish Recreation Club, we would be delighted to include them. Please scan images at 150 dpi and send them to: contactus@jhshk.org . Alternatively, if you have memories of the Club, you can share your stories below.

Community Memories

Fred Ezekiel (Miami, FL) – 16 December 2020:

“The layout of the club was very simple. On the ground floor, there was quite a large bar, with the kitchen and a sizable lobby. From there, you entered the auditorium which had a stage and a full badminton court with room on all sides for spectators and coffee tables. From the bar area, steps went up to the first floor, which had two very nice and large restrooms. The remainder of the floor was the card room with a couple of poker and bridge tables.From the outside, you drove down to a car park area with space for at least ten cars. Then there was quite a lawn and a clay tennis court, which unfortunately was not very good, so not much tennis was played. The badminton court was excellent, so we used to play there almost every Wednesday and often on Sunday evenings as well.The club was open all week, except for usually Friday and Saturday nights unless there was a special event. Sure, we had the usual Purim and Chanukah formal balls—with mixed dancing! There would be bridge nights, and poker was usually played on Sunday and Thursday evenings. For a while the club was used pretty extensively and I was the secretary for two years. I was a keen badminton player and I brought many non-Jewish friends to play there as it probably was one of the best badminton courts in HK in those days… The clubhouse was open during the day on Saturdays but not the kitchen, so sometimes we’d rest there and have a drink after services.”

 

KM (Hong Kong) – 7 May 2019:

“I used to love going to the community’s open day/fair every year. I remember walking down the driveway/slope and into the open garden area where all the stalls were. And we children would run around. I also recall across the garden area were stairs down to another old building and that is where my nursery school was… Sandlands or Sandilands, it was called.There was a very tall man every year at the fair (I think possibly with a moustache?) and he was well known for running the bagel and lox stall. I don’t know why I remember him. Perhaps because he was SO tall for a little girl! I also remember going into the building, the hall and I think there was a stage at one end.”