Sai Ying Pun Community Complex

The granite building at 2 High Street in Sai Ying Pun was completed in 1892 as quarters for the European nursing staff of the Government Civil Hospital, designed in a robust Early-Baroque style with a wide arched verandah. From 1939 it was converted into wards for mentally ill female patients to relieve overcrowding at the nearby Mental Hospital, and after the opening of Castle Peak Hospital in 1961 it served as a psychiatric out-patient clinic until 1971. It then stood empty for more than two decades, a decaying colonial shell in a busy neighbourhood, before the interior was cleared and the site redeveloped, with only the historic facade preserved.

During its long vacancy the building acquired the nickname the "High Street Haunted House", and stories spread of apparitions and strange sounds, encouraged by its former use, wartime associations and its gaunt, abandoned appearance. These tales are local folklore and urban legend rather than documented fact, and are best understood as the imaginative response of a community to a long-empty landmark.

Since 2001 the preserved facade has fronted the Sai Ying Pun Community Complex, and in 2015 it was declared a monument. Its real importance lies in being one of Hong Kong's oldest surviving structures connected to the history of mental health care, and a rare example of its architectural style.

The site now functions as the Sai Ying Pun Community Complex, an active government community facility, with the declared-monument granite facade of the Old Mental Hospital retained at its front. The complex houses public services and is part of the Central and Western Heritage Trail, so the exterior and facade can be viewed freely from the street at any reasonable time.

As a working community building rather than a museum of its former use, ordinary visitor courtesy applies, and there is no ghost-themed attraction on site. Those interested in the heritage can consult the Antiquities and Monuments Office and heritage trail information for background and access details.