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Shanghai American Club Birthplace of American Legion China Post 1 Dispatch: Gerald L. Damewood, 22 July 2004 Ever since locating the old American Club building in Shanghai two years ago, it has been my hope that one day I would be able to take a look inside. I was in Shanghai on business and decided that the time was right to give it a try. I approached the building with apprehension and not a little awe. After all this is the birthplace of China Post 1. My hope was to get a picture of the entry just inside the doors. I took a couple of pictures of me standing outside the doors. Then I looked at the outside of the building. The two carved marble decorative panels outside were defaced somewhat, but still looked nice. I noticed a plaque on the building to the right of the doorway. It is a plaque designating the building “Municipal Preservation Building” , the Shanghai Municipal Council has declared the building a protected historic site. I felt a great sense of pride and relief that the building would not fall to “development” but would be preserved. Since the building is now a Courthouse, I didn’t have much hope that I’d get far with my pictures. As we entered the door, a security guard approached and asked why we were there. I explained, through my Chinese friend, that I wanted to take pictures of the historic architecture of the building entryway. He was reluctant to allow photos, but agreed that I could take pictures of the entryway. As I took some pictures, the guard asked my friend why I was interested in this building since there were other older and more ornate buildings just a couple of blocks away on the Bund. As I joined my friend, I decided that the guard was receptive, so I showed him my CH-01 membership card and explained the significance of the building. I told him that since this was the CH-01 birthplace, I’d very much like to see the building. He led us up the left staircase through the door into the main reception room. He said I could look around and take pictures there. I walked to the back of the room through a door into what was possibly the dining room. Now the room is a courtroom. The side doors leading off to the outside patio are blocked with furniture now. I went outside to the side and saw where the patio had been, doorways closed off. By the time I had walked back in, my friend had convinced the guard that I was legitimately interested in the building for its history. The guard explained that the courthouse was closed and since no officials were around, he would show the building to us. He said we were very lucky we could get into the building at all. Any other time there would be at least one official there till the building was locked at night. That was the moment my hopes swelled. A guided tour of the building was more than I could have ever expected. The guard stopped me from walking up the stairway, instead directing us to the elevator. He said we’d go to the fifth floor first and walk down to each floor. Straight to the fifth floor, the Ballroom. Although the doors to the Ballroom were locked, we were able to get in through the rear courtroom. The Ballroom has been divided into three rooms, one room separated by a curtain and the other two by a wall. The courtroom is a fully functioning courtroom with judges table and seating. We went through the curtain and were in the main ballroom. Half of the room was set up for court and a wall closed off the other half. I could still see the decorative trim for the main chandelier on the ceiling. It is huge, and still in perfect condition. In the rest of the ballroom ceiling are the decorative trim for the other chandeliers/lights. Still in good shape with the hooks still in place. No lights though. All the windows, woodwork and ceiling decorative trim was beautifully preserved. I was allowed to take a picture of only the decorative trim in these rooms. From there we walked down the stairs to each floor. Floors four and three were like a hotel, with several doors opening from the hallways. Floor two had several rooms used as offices for attorneys and judges. Back to the first floor, again the woodwork, ceiling light decorative trim and ceiling edge trim were all in great shape. I then returned to the front entryway to shoot some more pictures. The entry is all white marble. Unfortunately the walls are very dirty, but the real beauty can still be seen beneath. The entry has two stair cases, one curving up each side of the entry. The stairways have wrought iron banisters that are in perfect condition, and still beautifully ornate. The stairways lead up to the main entrance doors on the first floor. The doors and doorframes are original carved woodwork, all in perfect condition. Above the entry is the original tulip globed chandelier. Original and still beautiful. Then stairs directly inside the outer doors lead down through an archway to a doorway leading to a closed room. I was able to look through the door into the area and saw what seemed to have been a bar-room. Lots of old furniture and scrap wood made a picture impossible, but I could easily imagine walking down for a cold one and proposing a toast to China Post members past and present. If any “old hands” who were at the Shanghai American club when it was in operation would like to comment on the functions of rooms described, I’d welcome any corrections/additions. Below are some pictures from inside the building. Fred, the pictures are too large to e-mail, so I’ve cut this CD for you. Any pix or text you see fit to print or put on our web site is your choice. The CD is the property of China Post One. May it share our history with all. A thank you from Fred Platt, Webmaster and members to Gerald L. Damewood!!
Archive: 2004-2006 Archive: 2003 Archive: 2002 Notice: members should look at their membership card if you are delinquent send your dues to the Post as soon as possible at: PO Box 570607 and we will get you processed ASAP.
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