Glen Line Building

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Glen Line Building, Shanghai
The Glen Line Building in 2022
Map
General information
Architectural styleRennaisance, Neoclassical
Address2 Beijing East Road, The Bund, Huangpu, Shanghai, China
Coordinates31°14′34″N 121°29′08″E / 31.2428°N 121.4855°E / 31.2428; 121.4855
Construction startedMarch 1920
CompletedMarch 1922
OwnerShanghai Clearing House
Height27.5 m (90 ft)
Technical details
MaterialReinforced concrete
Floor count7
Floor area11,181 m2 (120,350 sq ft)
Design and construction
Architect(s)George Leopold Wilson
Architecture firmP&T Group

The Glen Line Building (Chinese: 格林邮船大楼; pinyin: gélín yóuchuán dàlóu), also known as the United States Information Agency Building or Shanghai People's Radio Station Building,[1] is a 7-floor building in Shanghai, China, which was built in the former Shanghai International Settlement in 1922. It was designed by architect George Leopold Wilson of the Palmer and Turner Hong Kong (now known as the P&T Group).[2] It is a 'major cultural heritage site under national-level protection',[3] and also an 'outstanding historic building' of Shanghai.[4]

Occupying 1751 square meters, with a floor area of 11,181 m2 (120,350 sq ft),[5] the Glen Line Building is No.28 of The Bund, at the junction of the Zhongshan East Road and Beijing East Road. It neighbours the Banque de l'Indochine Building on Zhongshan East Road, while its main entrance is on Beijing East Road.[6]

It currently houses the Shanghai Clearing House, but previously housed the Shanghai People's Radio Station until 1996, the United States Information Agency and United States Navy[7] until 1949, the Yokohama Specie Bank until 1945, and the Glen Line company until 1937.[8]

History[edit]

From left to right, Siemssen & Co (original No. 28 building), the former building of No. 29 (Now the Banque de l'Indochine Building), and the former No. 27 Building (now the Jardine Matheson Building). Taken in 1872
The Glen Line Building in 1939
Glen Line Building
Native name
Chinese: 格林邮船大楼
TypeImportant near-modern historical sites and representative buildings
LocationShanghai, China
AreaHuangpu, Shanghai
Built1922
Governing bodyNational Cultural Heritage Administration
Designated20 November, 1996
Reference no.4-220

In 1856, Siemssen & Co, a German company, bought the land of No. 28, The Bund,[9] and constructed a two-storey veranda-style brick-timber hybrid building.[10] They operated shipping lanes and traded firearms, machinery, steel, electrical appliances, vehicles, makeup, and much more, as well as selling insurance.[11]

After the beginning of World War 1, the Chinese government absorbed all German businesses. Because a portion of Siemssen & Co was Dutch-owned, it was permitted to continue its business in China.[10]

After World War 1, Siemssen & Co, as a German business, was forced to withdraw from China, and Glen Line purchased No. 28.[12]

In 1920, Glen Line demolished the old building and began constructing a new building at No. 28. It was completed in March 1922. The bottom floor was used by Glen Line themselves, while all other floors were rented out.

After the loss in the Battle of Shanghai, the Glen Line Building was occupied by Japanese forces, and the bottom floor was used by the Yokohama Specie Bank.[13]

Following the Surrender of Japan, the building was returned to Glen Line, but because of the impact of the war, shipping routes were struggling to recover, leading Glen Line to rent the building to the United States Navy[14] and news agencies including the Associated Press.[15]

On the 5th of September 1945, the US consulate began to operate from the Glen Line building after resuming operations following the Surrender of Japan.[16]

In April 1949, the US Navy left the building, and the Navy offices were taken over by the consulate.[17]

In July 1949, after the success of the Shanghai Campaign, the consulate became under siege by former Chinese employees of the US Navy who demanded more severance pay.[17]

In 1950, due to the refusal to recognise the US consulate staff's diplomatic status from the new communist government, the US consulate closed on the 25th of April, 1950.[16]

In March 1951, the Shanghai People's Radio Station moved into the building, and the building was renamed as the Shanghai People's Radio Station Building.[18] The building, at the time, was renovated to be the most advanced and large-scale broadcast control centre, having 9 broadcasting offices and 16 differently-sized broadcasting studios. Equipped with stereo broadcasting equipment, it was the most advanced in the country.[10]

The bottom floor of the Glen Line Building was transformed into a Sino-Soviet Friendship Hall in May 1951.[19]

In 1989, The Glen Line Building was designated as an 'Outstanding Historical Building of Shanghai' by the Shanghai Municipal People's Government, in the first batch of such designated buildings.[20][21]

In October 1996, the Shanghai People's Radio Station moved to the Shanghai Broadcasting Building.[12]

In November 1996, the Glen Line Building was mentioned in the fourth batch of Major cultural heritage site under national-level protection by the State Council of the People's Republic of China, alongside the whole Bund complex, as 'Important near-modern historical sites and representative buildings'[22]

On the 28th of November, 2009, the building started housing the newly established Shanghai Clearing House, and remains housing it in the present.[23]

Architecture[edit]

The Glen Line Building has a total floor area of 11,181 m2 (120,350 sq ft), with a 1,751 m2 (18,850 sq ft) land area. It is built in a Renaissance and Neoclassical style.

The main entrance features an arched doorway with a portico, with two Palladian columns supporting a carved architrave.

The first and second floors of the building are faced with granite, with carved horizontal lines across, while the third to seventh floors are faced with quartz concrete. There is a decorated overhang between the fifth and sixth floors. The Glen Line building is designed to resonate the shape of a ship from afar.[24]

The floor of the first floor is made of a mosaic of black and white marble, and all woodwork within the building are teak and oak. The main staircase is located in the centre of the north facade, between two lifts, and through a broad archway. There are overhanging balconies on the third and fourth floors, and the top floor has a penthouse for the manager.[25]

One of the unique features of the interior design is indirect lighting. Electric lights are all hidden in bronze bowls hanging from the ceiling, and the reflected light creates a softer lighting in the building.[10]

References[edit]

  1. ^ Wu, Wenda, ed. (1997). 上海建筑施工志 (in Chinese). Shanghai: 上海社会科学院出版社. p. 231. ISBN 9787806183786.
  2. ^ "The Glen Line Building - built in 1922 (No. 28, The Bund)". english.eastday.com. Retrieved 2024-02-20.
  3. ^ "国务院关于公布第四批全国重点文物保护单位的通知". State Administration of Cultural Heritage. 1996-11-20. Archived from the original on 2014-04-09. Retrieved 2024-02-20.
  4. ^ "第二批优秀历史建筑". Shanghai Municipal Housing Administrative Department. Retrieved 2024-02-20.
  5. ^ 上海市黄浦区地名志 (in Chinese). Shanghai: 上海社会科学院出版社. 1989. p. 66.
  6. ^ Lloyd Register of Shipping 1940 Sailing Vessels. Lloyd's Register. 1940. pp. xxxv.
  7. ^ United States, Congress; House; Committee on Appropriations (1949-02-07). Percy Williams, Robert (ed.). Hearings Before the Subcommittee of the Committee on Appropriations, House of Representatives, Eighty-first Congress, First Session on the Department of State Appropriation Bill for 1950. Washington D.C.: United States Government Publishing Office. p. 405.
  8. ^ "格林邮船大楼". Shanghai Yangpu Library. 2010-02-02. Archived from the original on 2014-11-13. Retrieved 2024-02-20.
  9. ^ "航运和新闻广播的格林邮船大楼（广播大楼）". Shanghai Local History Office. 2009-10-22. Retrieved 2024-02-23.
  10. ^ a b c d "档案长廊|上海市黄浦区有线电视中心". The Bund News. 2015-04-30. Retrieved 2024-02-23.
  11. ^ "SIEMSSEN AND COMPANY". madspace.org. Retrieved 2024-02-23.
  12. ^ a b "上海中山东一路28号(北京东路2号).原格林邮船大楼". www.sinovision.net. Retrieved 2024-02-26.
  13. ^ "万国建筑博览——外滩（四）". Shanghai Huangpu District Archive Web. 2013-12-03.
  14. ^ United States, Congress. Senate. Special Committee Investigating the National Defense Program (1947). Investigation of the National Defense Program: Hearings Before a Special Committee Investigating the National Defense Program, United States Senate, Seventy-Seventh Congress, First Session--Eightieth Congress, First Session. S.Res.71. Washington D.C.: United States Government Publishing Office. pp. 20471–20472.
  15. ^ "上海格林邮船大楼 -资料". www.unjs.com. Retrieved 2024-02-23.
  16. ^ a b China, U. S. Mission (2018-06-15). "History Shanghai". U.S. Embassy & Consulates in China. Retrieved 2024-02-26.
  17. ^ a b "The Macon Telegraph, July 8, 1949". The Macon Telegraph. 1949-07-08. p. 1. Retrieved 2024-02-25.
  18. ^ "2A015-格林邮船大楼". Heritage architectures.com. Retrieved 2024-02-26.
  19. ^ Priestley, K. E. (1952). "The Sino-Soviet Friendship Association". Pacific Affairs. 25 (3): 291. JSTOR 2752806.
  20. ^ "第一节 文物保护单位与优秀近代建筑". shtong.gov.cn. 2003-09-05. Archived from the original on 2016-06-27. Retrieved 2024-02-09.
  21. ^ "第一批优秀历史建筑". Shanghai Municipal Housing Authority. Retrieved 2024-02-09.
  22. ^ "国务院关于公布第四批全国重点文物保护单位的通知". State Administration of Cultural Heritage. 2012-12-07. Archived from the original on 2014-04-09. Retrieved 2024-02-09.
  23. ^ "Brief Introduction of Shanghai Clearing House". Shanghai People's Municipal Government. 2023-07-18. Retrieved 2024-02-26.
  24. ^ Lou, Chenghao (2017). 上海百年工业建筑寻迹 [Cenntenial Industrial Buildings of Shanghai]. Tongji University Press. ISBN 9787560867991.
  25. ^ Bronson Rea, George (1922). The Far Eastern Review (1922.7 ed.). Shanghai: George Bronson Rea. pp. 410–411.
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