The Signal Tower in the Signal Hill Garden at Blackhead Point was built in 1907 by the Hong Kong Observatory to house a time-ball apparatus that was previously located in the nearby Round House of the Former Marine Police Headquarters. The Signal Tower was one of the two buildings constructed in Hong Kong for the purpose of signalling accurate time to the mariners and the public. The time-ball service resumed at the Signal Tower on 8 January 1908 and ceased on 30 June 1933. The Signal Tower has become a landmark feature of the Signal Hill Garden.
From 1908 to 1920, the time ball at Signal Tower dropped once daily. Shortly before at 1 pm every day, the 6 feet diameter hollow copper ball was raised by hand-winch to the top of the mast, then at exactly 1 pm it was automatically released and dropped to the foot of the mast. From 1920 onwards, the time ball dropped twice a day at 10 am and 4 pm until 1933.
The Signal Tower was originally 42 feet high with three storeys, and a storey of about 20 feet was added in 1927 to enhance the Signal Tower's visibility. It was built to a heavy Classical Baroque design incorporating popular Edwardian decorative features of the time, which combined red brickwork with contrasting lighter colour stone architectural features. It is also a square-shaped building with elegant chamfered corners, as compared to the usual square corners. The brickwork is in "English Bond" of specially made red bricks, while the stonework is of carved local granite. Other architectural features include granite plinth, band course, moulded cornices and windows with "Gibbs surrounds".
Signal Tower at Blackhead Point was declared a monument in 2015.
9am - 11am and 4pm - 6pm daily