Pitt Street | |||||||||||
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Chinese | 碧街 | ||||||||||
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Pitt Street, named after William Pitt the Younger,[1][2][3][4][5] prime minister of the United Kingdom, and before Acts of Union 1800, of Great Britain, is a street in one of the busiest sections in Yau Ma Tei of Hong Kong, hosting several prominent sites including Kwong Wah Hospital[6][7][8][9][10][11] and the headquarters of Chinese YMCA of Hong Kong,[12][11] spanning across three thoroughfares, namely Ferry Street in the west, Waterloo Road in the east and Nathan Road in the middle, which connecting north and south of Kowloon Peninsula. While said to be in Yau Ma Tei, it could be in Mong Kok or Mong Kok Tsui, depending on context. Its name in Chinese character is 碧街, which the character 碧 /pik/, literally greenish jade,[13] is a phonetic approximation of Pitt in Cantonese and 街 a literal translation of street.[14]
The street features with multi-storey buildings mixing use of commercial and residential, officially known as composite buildings, typical in urban area of Hong Kong.[15][16]
Yau Ma Tei station, joint station of Kwun Tong line and Tsuen Wan line of MTR, laying under Nathan Road, spans to the underground here with two exits, A1 and A2 on the street.[17][11] The ventilation shaft of the station behind Exit A1, with its practical appearance, was the landmark of the street facing Nathan Road. While no bus stop for franchised bus services stands on the street, there are several bus stops bearing its name Pitt Street near its junctions on other streets and roads, including nine platforms of Kowloon Motor Bus on Nathan Road, serving tens of bus routes to major destinations all over Hong Kong.
The street forms junctions with multiple streets, from west to east, Ferry Street, Tak Cheong Street, Tung On Street, Canton Road, Reclamation Street, Shanghai Street, Portland Street, Nathan Road, Tung Fong Street, and Waterloo Road. Historically, Shanghai Street was formerly known as Station Street (North/South) and Nathan Road as Coronation Road.[18] There used to be a junction with Kwong Wah Street, which was removed during the reconstruction of Kwong Wah Hospital around 1958.[19] The street, at the east end, extends beyond Waterloo Road to Chun Yi Lane, but the dual carriageway of Waterloo Road blocks the direct traffic between the street and the lane.
Tung Wah Group of Hospitals Lo Yu Chik Primary School, formerly the site of old Kwong Wah Hospital, is located west side of current hospital.[20][21] The high-rise of Chinese YWCA is also the location of YMCA College of Careers[22] and a hotel The Cityview.[12]
The latest reconstruction of Kwong Wah Hospital relocated Emergency Department, together with its entrance, from Waterloo Road to Pitt Street in 2023.[6][7][8][9] All emergency traffic was re-routed through the street.