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32-587: The larger North Building is called Sassoon House . The building was built by Sir Victor Sassoon , of the Sassoon family , which built a Shanghai business and real estate empire in the early 20th century. He was a British Sephardic Jew of Iraqi origin, educated at Harrow School and Cambridge University . His family owned the trading company " E.D. Sassoon & Co. ", which managed extensive business interests in Bombay , Hong Kong , and Shanghai . Sassoon House

64-523: A Bed and Breakfast. Late in life he married his American nurse, Evelyn "Barnsie" Barnes, who remained in Nassau long after Sassoon's death in 1961. Lady Sassoon continued to provide support for the charity founded by her late husband to help Bahamian children, by hosting the black-tie Heart Ball each year over the Valentine's Day weekend. On the death of his father in 1924, Sir Victor Sassoon inherited

96-663: A height of about 10 meters (33 feet). The pyramid is faced with copper, which has corroded to light green. Banks and shops leased the ground floor space until 1949. This space became the Shanghai branch of Citibank in 2002. The fourth through ninth floors once housed the Cathay Hotel . After the Communist takeover in 1949, some of the offices were used by the Municipal Finance Committee. In 1952,

128-738: A hotel, as a wing of the Peace Hotel. Similar to its counterpart to the north, the South Building was renovated in preparation for the 2010 World Expo. It emerged as The Swatch Art Peace Hotel . It hosts artists from around the world who live and work for a limited time in apartments/workshops. The heritage facade and public rooms of the building have been restored. 31°14′27.9″N 121°29′04.5″E  /  31.241083°N 121.484583°E  / 31.241083; 121.484583 Victor Sassoon Sir Ellice Victor Sassoon, 3rd Baronet GBE (20 December 1881 – 13 August 1961)

160-762: A real estate boom there by investing millions of US dollars in the local economy. Sir Victor frequently travelled worldwide for business and pleasure and divided his time between Poona , India and Shanghai. He acquired the Cathay Land Company, the Cathay Hotel Company and at least 50 other companies. Sassoon built the Cathay Hotel (now the Peace Hotel ) in 1929, and other large hotels, office buildings and residences, many in The Bund ,

192-543: A shop in the Shanghai Palace Hotel in Shanghai. They later opened a shop on No. 37 Water Street (水町通り) in Yokohama . The company existed roughly until the 1930s, when the outbreak of World War II brought it to an end. Items by Kuhn & Komor receive high prices on auctions. [REDACTED] Media related to Kuhn & Komor at Wikimedia Commons This Chinese corporation or company article

224-561: A studio in Bombay State at Ballard Estate by the same name as Hamilton Studios at E.D.Sassoon Building (one of his property), Ballard Estate, and all the negatives from Shimla were brought here, to Bombay, closing down that studio completely. He was also fond of horse racing , Chinese ivories (his vast collection was eventually bequeathed to the British Museum in 2018 ), international friendships and travel. He counted members of

256-577: A waterfront area in central Shanghai (including Hamilton House, Metropole Hotel and Embankment). At one time, he owned over 1,800 properties there. Sassoon endeavored to protect Western interests in the Orient and helped European Jews survive in the Shanghai Ghetto . Sassoon loved photography and opened a studio in Shimla first called Hamilton Studios. In 1928 he established his hobby and opened

288-513: Is 77 meters (253 feet) high to the roofline, and 83 meters (272 feet) to the spire. The builders followed a consistent art deco scheme, from exterior design to interior decor. Most of the building features granite facing, while the ninth floor and the roof are surfaced with terracotta. The eastern facade (facing the Huangpu River and the Bund) features a pyramidal roof with steep sides, and

320-685: The Royal Flying Corps in the First World War . He survived a plane crash in 1916 and sustained leg injuries that plagued him for the rest of his life. When his father died in 1924, Victor inherited his title and became 3rd Baronet of Bombay. He moved to India, where he managed his family's textile mills and served in the Indian Legislative Assembly . In the 1920s and 1930s, he transferred much of his wealth from India to Shanghai , China and contributed to

352-417: The aristocracy and such Hollywood stars as Charlie Chaplin , Marlene Dietrich , Basil Rathbone and Bette Davis among his acquaintances. An accomplished photographer, he made many images of friends, and of local and foreign landscapes and created numerous photograph albums. He also illustrated his diaries with his own photographs. He lived in Shanghai until 1941, when due to China's war with Japan , he

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384-614: The 3rd Baronet of Bombay. Late in life, in 1959, he married his American nurse, Evelyn Barnes ("Barnsie"). He had no issue and the baronetcy became extinct. He was related by marriage to the Mocatta family and he himself was a Sephardic Jew . One of his former employees, Lawrence Kadoorie (later the Lord Kadoorie ), later founded the Hong Kong -based utility company China Light and Power . One of his right-hand men in Shanghai

416-591: The Japan Suite featured tatami mats, Indian rugs and cushions were found in the India Suite, and Chinese furniture and ceramics in the China Suite. The building occupies 4,617 square meters (49,697 square feet), and offers 36,317 square meters (390,913 square feet) of floor space. The building is ten stories in height, and the tenth floor is a penthouse, where Victor Sassoon once lived. The North Building

448-662: The Peace Hall, plus several meeting rooms, and an outdoor terrace. A low-rise extension has been added to the rear of the hotel, housing guestrooms, a swimming pool, and spa. Separated from the North Building by Nanjing Road , the South Building dates back to the 1850s, when it was known as the Central Hotel. In 1903, the hotel was restructured and renamed the Palace Hotel . The building that stands today

480-594: The Sassoon Studs to Louis Freedman in 1971. Among Sir Victor Sassoon's stables' significant performances were wins in The Derby ( Pinza , Crepello , Hard Ridden , St. Paddy ), Epsom Oaks ( Exhibitionnist ), 1,000 Guineas (Exhibitionnist, Honeylight ), 2,000 Guineas (Crepello), St. Leger Stakes (St Paddy) and King George VI and Queen Elizabeth Stakes (Pinza). On the death of his father, Sir Edward Elias Sassoon , in 1924, Sir Victor Sassoon became

512-723: The United Kingdom. In 1925, he purchased the Bungalow Stud, founded 1851 in Cambridgeshire not far from the Newmarket Racecourse . He renamed it Eve Stud Ltd. as he was known to his intimates as 'Eve' - a contraction of his first two names, Ellice Victor. The mastermind behind Sir Victor's racing success in Britain was trainer Sir Noel Murless who became manager of Eve Stud in 1952. He purchased

544-702: The building was taken over by the Municipal Government. In 1956, it once again became a hotel under the name "Peace Hotel". During the Cultural Revolution , the hotel was used by the Gang of Four , most famously by Zhang Chunqiao as he headed the Shanghai Commune from headquarters in the Peace Hotel. Its Old Jazz Band was recently the basis for a movie, "As Time Goes By" a film by Uli Gaulke . Its roof terrace restaurant overlooks

576-696: The district of Pudong across the Huangpu. This hotel was also used as an inspiration for Vicki Baum 's 1937 novel "Shanghai '37", also known as "Hotel Shanghai" and "Nanjing Road". In 2007, the hotel closed for a three-year renovation of both the exterior and interior, including the guest rooms, the lobby, and the dining and entertainment venues. The North Building reopened in 2010, as the Fairmont Peace Hotel Shanghai . The hotel now offers 270 guestrooms and 39 suites, including Victor's Café, named for Sir Victor Sassoon. The eighth floor hosts

608-542: The merchant bank "Wallace Brothers and Company (Holding)" in 1972, which in turn was taken over by the Standard Chartered Bank in 1976. The other parts of the "Sassoon Group" and the "Sir Victor Sassoon Heart Foundation", set up by Lady Sassoon after her husband's death, are run from Nassau, where the family still lives. A fan of thoroughbred horse racing , Sir Victor Sassoon owned a highly successful stable of horses that won numerous prestigious races in

640-569: The property from Sir Victor's widow in 1970 and gave it the name Woodditton Stud . Sir Noel continued the practice of standing stallions there, including the top-class racehorses Connaught and Welsh Pageant. The stallion tradition was maintained when the stud was purchased again in 1981 by Mr Yong Nam-Seng of Singapore , being home to Damister and, for a short time, his champion son Celtic Swing, as well as Bin Ajwaad, Superlative and Sayf el Arab. After 20 years of ownership, during which time he expanded

672-675: The stud to 185 acres , Mr Yong Nam-Seng, a steward of the Singapore Jockey Club and former chairman of the Australasian Racing Conference, sold Woodditton Stud in November 2001 to its present owner Darley Stud Management and it is now used as a rest and recuperation facility. Sassoon purchased Beech House Stud from Martin H. Benson in 1960 and along with Eve Stud it became part of Sassoon Studs Incorporated managed by Murless. Sassoon's wife sold

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704-631: The success of the Xinhai Revolution , Sun Yat-sen stayed at the hotel and advocated commitment to the revolutionary cause. During World War II , the building was occupied by the Japanese army . In 1947 it was purchased by a Chinese company. After the revolution in 1949, it continued operations until 1952, when it was confiscated and used by the Municipal Construction Department. In 1965 it resumed operations as

736-592: The trading house " E.D. Sassoon & Co. Limited ". Set up in 1867, it had offices in Bombay (India) and Shanghai (China) and interests in Persian Gulf ports, Baghdad and Japan . The Company ran cotton mills in India and invested in property in the Far East . In 1928 Sir Victor Sassoon established the "E.D. Sassoon Banking Company Limited" as a subsidiary of "E. D. Sassoon and Company Limited", to coordinate

768-408: The trading interests of his family. In March 1930, E.D. Sassoon and Company Limited's new headquarters were opened at "Sassoon House" in Shanghai. The Second World War brought many changes to the E.D. Sassoon Group. Despite successful production rates, the firm decided to dispose of the mills in Bombay in 1943, fearing problems as foreign owners once independence was granted. In May 1949, Shanghai

800-466: Was Gordon Currie who was put into a concentration camp by the Japanese and remained there for several years. Kuhn %26 Komor Kuhn & Komor ( 康茂洋行 ), also known colloquially as K&K , was a Hungarian multinational luxury jeweler and specialty retailer headquartered in Shanghai, China. K&K produced jewelry, sterling silver, china, crystal, stationery, and personal accessories. K&K

832-746: Was an Italian businessman and hotelier from the wealthy Baghdadi Jewish Sassoon merchant and banking family. Sir Ellice Victor Elias Sassoon was born 20 (some sources cite 30) December 1881 in Naples , Kingdom of Italy while his family was en route to India. He was raised in England where he attended Harrow and Trinity College, Cambridge . He was from a Baghdadi Jewish family which dealt successfully in all sorts of commodities like precious metals , silks , gums , spices , wool and wheat . But, later, it specialised in trading Indian cotton yarn and opium from Bombay to China . Sir Victor served in

864-489: Was completed in 1908, and offered two elevators, the first building in Shanghai to do so. It was also once home to a Kuhn & Komor shop. The hotel occupies 2,125 square metres (22,870 sq ft), with a floor space of 11,607 square metres (124,940 sq ft). It has a brick veneer, with its six stories reaching 30 metres (98 ft) in height. The exterior is in a Renaissance style. The hotel has eighteen artist residences and seven guest rooms. In 1911, after

896-489: Was completed in 1929. The Cathay Hotel incorporated a high standard of luxury and modern amenities such as indoor plumbing, which made it a more esteemed establishment than other nearby hotels such as the Kadoorie family owned Majestic and Astor House Hotels. The Cathay featured a floor of rooms referred to as the “national suites,” with each room decorated in a different foreign style. According to author Jonathan Kaufman,

928-613: Was forced to leave. After the Chinese Communist Revolution of 1949, he sold his business interests in China and relocated to Nassau , Bahamas . During the 1950s, Sassoon lived at his home on Cable Beach in Nassau . He also spent time in the remote town of Hillsboro, New Mexico , located about a three-hour drive north of El Paso, Texas. He built a house there and named it El Refugio. It has since been turned into

960-769: Was renowned in East Asia for its luxury goods, also being called the " Asprey of Asia." The Komor family was Jewish and originally came from Hungary. Moritz Montague Kuhn founded Kuhn & Co in Yokohama in 1869, a shop filled with Curios , curiosities from the Far East (or souvenir shop). Siegfried Komo, the nephew of Kuhn, came to Japan in 1887 to work for his uncle, followed by the son of Kuhn, Arthur, who arrived in Japan in 1890. In 1894, Siegfried Komo and Arthur Kuhn founded Kuhn & Komor in Yokohama. The company opened

992-614: Was the first high-rise building built by Victor Sassoon, and one of the first skyscrapers in the Eastern Hemisphere. Sassoon bought a full city block on a prominent spot on the Bund prior to construction. When built the Sassoon House topped out at fifty feet taller than the next tallest building on the Bund. It was designed by architects Palmer and Turner , with a reinforced concrete structure. Construction began in 1926, and

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1024-465: Was under the control of a communist regime and seemed an unhealthy place for the company's head office, so this was transferred to Nassau in the Bahamas in 1950. It is thought that Nassau was chosen because there were no forms of personal or corporation tax in place and Sir Victor Sassoon planned to live there, which he did until his death in 1961. "E.D. Sassoon Banking Company Limited" was bought by

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