As the population in Hong Kong grew, a larger prison was needed and in 1925 construction began in Stanley.
One possible reason is that after serving their prison term, the inmates emerged from the gate at Old Bailey Street and led new lives, hence "the long slope".
Policemen, often of Indian descent, would walk the prisoners to a plaza in front of the Man Mo Temple where the lawbreakers were scoffed and condemned by the passers-by.
[4] The bombing was part of a systematic bombardment of the Hong Kong Island's north shore that was launched on that day.
[5] The Nanhua Ribao (南華日報) reported on July 20, 1942 that a handcart had slipped downward along the steep Old Bailey Street the day before, and had bumped into a rickshaw, injuring the puller.
It was closed in December 2005 and the Hong Kong Government, after a consultation period, has converted both the Prison, the old Central Police Station (which is at the intersection of Old Bailey Street and Hollywood Road) and the Former Central Magistracy into the Tai Kwun centre, which opened to the public on 29 May 2018.
The lease on this landed property commenced in 1844, making it one of the earliest lots to be sold in Hong Kong.