WANDER SHANGHAI

1331 Fuxing Middle Road

Blackstone Apartments

黑石公寓

Eclectic architecture with Baroque details

In 1924 James Harry Blackstone developed these apartments on Rue Lafayette. Its 31 suites combined living rooms, bedrooms, bathrooms and kitchens with hotel services.

Explore the historical timeline
Courtyard-side exterior, photographed in 2017; the street portico is on another face.

2017-12-02

Courtyard-side exterior, photographed in 2017; the street portico is on another face.

Fayhoo · Image source · CC BY-SA 3.0

At a glance

Built
1924
Architect
Designer not yet verified
Architecture
Eclectic architecture with Baroque details
Original use
Luxury serviced apartments
Present use
Homes and street-level cultural businesses; centenary exhibition in 2024
Address
1331 Fuxing Middle RoadFuxing Middle Road

Architecture and use: sources[1] [2]

The beginning

Why was it built here?

In 1924 James Harry Blackstone developed these apartments on Rue Lafayette. Its 31 suites combined living rooms, bedrooms, bathrooms and kitchens with hotel services.[1] [2]

Amenities included dining and dancing rooms, a pool and tennis courts. After 1945 UNRRA used the building as offices, linking it to international postwar relief.[1] [2]

Look up, then look closer

Details worth a closer look

Massing and façade

The symmetrical street façade uses projecting curves and layered windows. A central pediment, triangular window details and cornices articulate the substantial mass.[1] [2]

Space and details

The open entrance porch rests on simplified Corinthian columns below a terrace. The street porch and rounded courtyard projection are different views of the building.[1] [2]

One building, changing roles

Read the building through time

Captions distinguish photographic dates from publication dates; periods without reliable images are covered in the text.

  1. 1924

    Apartments completed

    Blackstone’s serviced apartment development opened with private suites and shared leisure amenities.[1] [2]

  2. 1945

    Postwar relief offices

    UNRRA used the building for offices after the war, connecting the apartments to international relief.[1] [2]

  3. 2024

    Centenary exhibition

    A street-level bookshop hosted a centenary exhibition about architecture, residents and changing uses.[1] [2]

Today and visiting

Discover the building from the street

Homes and street-level cultural businesses; centenary exhibition in 2024[1] [2]

Address
1331 Fuxing Middle Road
Visiting
Observe from public pavements; entry follows posted opening and booking rules. Respect residential, office and worship uses. A guide marker is not permission to enter.
Find the address on a map ↗

Sources checked: 2026-10-26 · Observe from public pavements; entry follows posted opening and booking rules. Respect residential, office and worship uses. A guide marker is not permission to enter.

Shanghai and the world

Read history across the neighbourhood

Neighbouring apartments, houses and public spaces have different construction and use histories. Addresses, photograph directions and records together reveal how the neighbourhood developed.[1] [2]

Elizabeth ApartmentsShanghai Symphony Hall

Text and image sources

This account is based on the sources below. Unverified details are identified as such. Where photographs are included, sources and licences are listed beneath each image.

  1. Shanghai tourism authority: Blackstone centenary ↗

    Compiled from the listed evidence. Publication, capture and construction dates are distinguished.

  2. Shanghai housing bureau: fourth historic-building list ↗

    Compiled from the listed evidence. Publication, capture and construction dates are distinguished.

  3. Fayhoo ↗

    CC BY-SA 3.0

Image handling and dating

Images come from the archives or image source pages listed beneath each photograph. We resize and compress them to WebP, preserving their original proportions without colourisation or added detail. Grain, blur and scanning marks in historical photographs are retained.

Original framing is retained, with WebP conversion and previews only. Article dates do not replace unknown capture dates; drawings and photographs are identified separately.