Disappearing Corners

The Cathay Mansions were built as a residential hotel in 1928. It was the first high-rise to be built on Shanghai’s swampy ground. (Further information from Live in Shanghai) The Cathay Land Company, owned by Sir Victor Sassoon, who had built the landmark Cathay Hotel on the Bund and many other major properties in Shanghai, commissioned the British firm Arnhold & Company to build Cathay Mansions. The construction was the city’s tallest at the time and became a popular address for the rich and famous of the era. It is now part of the Jinjiang Hotel that includes Grosvenor Mansions, the original Cathay Mansions and the modern Cathay Garden executive wing.