#03 117 Nam Cheong Pawn
第三站：南昌押 

Nam Cheong Pawn is a well-known and unique tenement building located in Sham Shui Po, and it is also a third-class historical building in Hong Kong. In 1920, pawning in Hong Kong was legalized. Many ships travelled between Hong Kong and Macau at the Sham Shui Po Wharf. As a result, pawn shops sprung up in Sham Shui Po, and "Tong An Da Pawn" was one of the largest. The five-storey building is the earliest urban renewal product in Hong Kong.

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The history of this building can be traced back to the Japanese occupation period in Hong Kong (1941-1945). Sham Shui Po belonged to the Chinese entertainment area during the Japanese occupation, also known as the comfort area. The area is full of entertainment places such as prostitutes and restaurants, and the predecessor of "Tong An Da Pawn" was a teahouse and a tour guide agency. Today, only 12 pre-war tenement buildings in Sham Shui Po are worthy of attention.

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Up to now, the neon signboards on both sides of the corner of Nam Cheong Pawn have been demolished due to the approval of building plans violating Article 14 of the Buildings Ordinance. There is a red "囍" character on the top of the signboard, which is in the shape of "bats and rats hanging money", entrusting the beautiful vision of the shop. With the demolition of the light signs, Nam Cheong Pawn, which has a history of more than 100 years, will inevitably be dimmed; the neon signs have also become relics that promote regional reconstruction.

南昌押是位於深水埗一棟街知巷聞、別具特色的唐樓，同時是香港第三級歷史建築。在1920年，香港典當合法化，當時深水埗碼頭有許多船隻往來港澳兩地，因此典當舖如雨後春筍在深水埗應聲而起，“同安大押”是其中規模最大的之一。樓高五層，屬於香港最早期的市區重建產物。

翻查資料，這棟建築的歷史能夠追溯到香港日佔時期（1941-1945），深水埗屬於日佔時期華人娛樂區，又稱慰安區。區內充斥著娼寮和酒樓等娛樂性場所，“同安大押”前身也是茶室及導遊社。如今在深水埗尚存的戰前唐樓僅餘12棟，實在值得關注。

時至現在，在南昌押轉角兩側霓虹招牌因違反《建築物條例》第14條規定獲批准建築圖則而宣告拆除。招牌頂端有紅色「囍」字，呈「蝠鼠吊金錢」狀，寄託了押鋪的美好景願。隨著燈牌的清拆，逾百年歷史的南昌押難免落於黯淡；霓虹招牌也成為了推動地區重建的遺物。