Legislative Council Building

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Classical architecture was used in the design of the Former Supreme Court Building

The Legislative Council Building (traditional Chinese: 立法會大樓, former 立法局大樓)of Hong Kong, also called the Former Supreme Court Building (前最高法院大樓), was the home of the former Supreme Court until 1985, when it was renamed and became home to the Legislative Council of Hong Kong. It is located in Central Hong Kong, along the eastern side of Statue Square, directly west of Chater Garden.

The Supreme Court of Hong Kong was moved to the Supreme Court Building, Hong Kong after 1985 and remained there until 1997. It is now housed in the High Court Building.

The building was designed by Sir Aston Webb, the British architect responsible for the eastern facade of Buckingham Palace and the Cromwell Road frontage of the Victoria and Albert Museum in London.

It was built on reclaimed land, and opened on January 15, 1912. The two-storey granite building is neo-classical in style supported by Ionic columns. It is surmounted by a blind-folded statue of Justice, represented by the Greek goddess Themis. This statue is a replica of the one erected on the Old Bailey of London.

In 1978, this building was severely affected by the construction of MTR; therefore, it had to undergo some restoration afterwards.

The Exterior of the Old Supreme Court is one of the 80 declared monuments of Hong Kong.

For a time in the 1980s, the Supreme Court was moved to the Former French Mission Building, which was then used by the Victoria District Court.

[edit] Previous homes of the Legislative Council

Before 1985, the Legco met at three other locations:

Former French Mission Building 1843-1846
Caine Road 1846-?
Government House, Hong Kong 1855; used ballroom after 1891
Old Central Government Offices - 1930s until 1954
Central Government Offices 1957-1985^{[citation needed]}

Prior to the handover in 1997, the Provisional Legislative Council was executing work to setup the post handover legislature. It met in Shenzhen, Guangzhou, China from 1996 to 1997 at the Shenzhen Guesthouse Hotel.