Eastern Hospital Road Temporary Rest Garden

1924年，時任港督司徒拔批准於灣仔掃桿埔與加路連山的邊界道路上興辦東華東院，並於1929年啟用。60年代，在醫院主體大樓的西北面空地加建殮房和送別亭，並於兩座大樓之間對出的彎位設置開放小園地，成為休憩花園雛形。其後由殮房原址拆卸和改建而成的東華三院盧家騶眼科醫療紀念中心於1991年啟用，門前的園地的樹木也被移除。直到1994年，為改善醫院景觀和為病人提供舒適的戶外環境，前市政局將門前的空地改建為東院道臨時休憩花園，及後民政總署再次於2001年翻新花園，加裝了四組涼亭和座椅，一字排開，並更名為東院道休憩花園，然而康文署卻遲遲未有將正名刊憲。場內三塊記有相左名字的雲石紀念碑、標誌牌和地政地圖的「不及時」更名，均反映了此處用地性質長時間以來被忽視和模棱兩可的狀態，相反地亦佐證了細小的休憩空間在面對這些爭議時所充當的緩衝角色。

In 1924, the then Governor Sir Reginald Edward Stubbs approved the establishment of Tung Wah Eastern Hospital on the boundary road between So Kwun Po and Caroline Hill in Wan Chai, which was opened in 1929. In the 1960s, a mortuary and a farewell pavilion were added to the open space to the north-west of the main hospital building. A crescent-shaped garden was set up on a piece of land formed by two buildings, which was the predecessor of the rest garden. When mortuary was demolished to build the Tung Wah Group of Hospitals Lo Ka Chow Memorial Ophthalmic Centre, the garden along with trees growing near the new building’s entrance were removed. The ophthalmic centre was opened in 1991, and in 1994, the former Urban Council converted the vacant site in front of the building into a temporary rest garden, providing comfortable outdoor spaces for patients. The Home Affairs Department renovated the garden again in 2001 by adding four sets of arbours and seats, which renamed the garden as Eastern Hospital Road Rest Garden. However, the Leisure and Cultural Services Department has never gazetted the proper name. Different names of the garden as shown on the marble plaque, the wooden signage and the official government map reflect how the site has long been neglected and facing uncertainty. Yet it is also a testament to the role of small open spaces as a buffer against such controversies.