Blackstone Apartments (Shanghai)

The Blackstone Apartments or Fuxing Apartments (Chinese: 黑石公寓) are the first purpose-built luxury apartments for expatriates in Shanghai, China. Built in 1924, the four-storey building is created from imported concrete and stones from the UK, giving it a dark appearance.

Blackstone Apartments
黑石公寓
Former namesFuxing Apartments
General information
TypeApartment
Architectural styleBaroque
LocationXuhui District, Shanghai
Address1331 Fuxing Middle Road
CountryPeople's Republic of China
Coordinates31.2045°N 121.4383°E / 31.2045; 121.4383
Inaugurated1924
Height30 m (98 ft)
Technical details
Floor count6
Floor area4,977 m2 (53,570 sq ft)

The Blackstone Apartments is a protected historic apartment building in the former French Concession area of Shanghai. It was completed in 1924. The building was the first purpose-built apartment building for expatriates in this location.

Location

The building is located in the centre of Fuxing Middle Road (formerly Route LaFayette), on the corner with Fenyang Road, in Shanghai's Xuhui District. It is in the central part of the former French Concession area of the city.

Architecture

Completed in 1924, the six-storey building is the oldest Baroque apartment building in Shanghai. Using imported British concrete with the use of black stones, the symmetrical facade has a large ornamental awning at the front with Double Corinthian Columns.[1][2] The building originally had a large garden and communal swimming pool in the building.[3][4]

History

The building served as private residences up until after World War II, when it was converted into the office for the United Nations Relief and Rehabilitation Administration. A previous tenant from 1946 to 1947, Betty Barr Wang, describes the building as follows:

“What I enjoyed most about the year at the Blackstone was the large garden at the back. Along one wall was a bamboo grove and I remember spending many hours there with my young teenage friends, most of whom were American. Our neighbors in the apartment building were both foreign and Chinese and I presume that the rents must have been high in those post-war years.”[5]

See also

References
  1. "The Building No.1, 1331 Fuxing Road M." xh.qjtrip.com. Archived from the original on 2 November 2014. Retrieved 1 November 2014.
  2. "Shanghai's 6 Most Interesting Historic Streets". Echinacities.com. Retrieved 1 November 2014.
  3. "˹Ԣ". Xh.qjtrip.com. Archived from the original on 2 November 2014. Retrieved 1 November 2014.
  4. "复兴公寓（原黑石公寓）". Archived from the original on 13 April 2014. Retrieved 1 November 2014.
  5. Yao, Minji (16 November 2013). "Stone-gate houses became city's soul". Shanghai Daily. Retrieved 1 November 2014.
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