Astor House: The Bar On Broadway

We've turned around and are now walking a block toward the Astor House along Broadway. Time has moved on - it's now around 1911 or shortly after. The Astor House extension work is finished, and there is an entrance to the hotel complex at the corner of Broadway and Astor Road.

This is the best version of this postcard I've found so far and the original clearly has been having a rough time.

On the left we see a few more of the curio stores and traditional shops, with an abrupt change to a much taller brick building that is at this point only a few years old. More about this building in our next post.

That road to the left is Astor Road which only goes for one block south to Whangpoo Road where the main entrance to the hotel is located. And across the road, the new entrance to "THE ASTOR" as the brand new sign above the door proudly proclaims.

The postcard gives us a little more info - "The Astor bar in Broadway Shanghai". I take this to mean that there was a separate bar here near the new entrance, and we know from descriptions at the time that the Astor re-opened with several bars and ballrooms. Specifically, I'm wondering if this might be the location of the "bar and billiard room" that is mentioned in newspapers after the 1911 opening. I haven't yet come across a photo of that billiard room.

Here is another view from around the same time, a little closer to the hotel. The sign "THE ASTOR" is easier to see here and we also get a rare glimpse down the short Astor Road. To the right, on the last block of Broadway before it merges with Seward Road, are several stores that we will visit in future posts.

But before that, in our next post, we'll turn around and take a closer look at the tall brick building across the street from the Astor entrance.