Broadway Mansions Hotel was completed in 1934 to a design by Palmer & Turner – the three top floors were occupied by the Shanghai Club of Foreign Correspondents, and after the war, they housed American military personnel.
Completed in 1934, the Art Deco tower on Suzhou Creek’s embankment was designed by Palmer & Turner as a residential building, but the top three floors were occupied by foreign correspondents — it housed the Shanghai Foreign Correspondents’ Club, and after World War II, American military personnel. Broadway Mansions Hotel remains one of the recognizable silhouettes of old Shanghai.
The Art Deco Tower by Palmer & Turner
The building was completed in 1934 according to the design of the British architectural firm Palmer & Turner — the same firm that designed many iconic buildings in colonial Shanghai — as an Art Deco residential tower on Suzhou Creek’s embankment. For Shanghai in the 1930s, experiencing the peak of architectural modernism in the colonial settlements, the building became one of the most prominent vertical silhouettes of the city alongside the famous structures on the nearby Bund.
The Foreign Correspondents’ Club on the Upper Floors
The top three floors of the building housed the Shanghai Foreign Correspondents’ Club — a documented center from which Western journalists covered events in wartime and pre-war China. After World War II, American military personnel were also stationed in the building — a detail that adds a layer of military history to its significance beyond its purely architectural value.
At the Confluence of Two Rivers
The building’s location – at the intersection of Suzhou Creek and Huangpu River, near the Waibaidu Bridge – provides views of several iconic city panoramas: the Bund waterfront on one side and the Lujiazui business district with modern Shanghai’s skyscrapers on the other. Few historical buildings in the city can boast such a prime vantage point overlooking both old and new Shanghai simultaneously.
More Than 90 Years of Nearly Continuous Operation
The hotel has remained in operation for over 90 years – a rare continuity of function for Shanghai buildings of this age, considering how many colonial-era structures in the city have changed purpose, closed down, or been completely rebuilt during a century of political and economic shifts.
What Guests Say
Guests mention in reviews that the service level is consistent with a five-star standard, particularly recommending booking a room with a river view – one guest noted that some of the furniture is worn, “but the hotel is over 90 years old,” adding that there’s an observation deck on the 13th floor. Another guest described in detail an incident where they left their watch in the room: the administration called them directly, staff thoroughly checked the room and quickly found the lost item – “the reliability of this historic hotel deserves praise.” A third guest noted that one of the two elevators was under repair during their visit, resulting in long wait times, and felt the breakfast selection was somewhat limited considering the room rate.
What’s Next
Another Art Deco Shanghai hotel on the Bund waterfront is the Fairmont Peace Hotel of 1929, the “Far East’s First House.”
Hotel service details, amenities and program specifics are subject to change – please verify current information before booking.
