The Headquarters Block is the most prominent landmark of the CPS compound. It is set along Hollywood Road and is symmetrical in styling. The gatehouse at the centre is slightly protruding and carved with the words “Hong Kong Police”, on top of which are two Doric columns showing the date of completion at its top: 1919. On two sides are the characters G and R, short for George Rex, representing the King of England of the time: King George the Fifth.
The façade of the building is moulded from concrete. It is four storeys high and characterized by a two-section design. The lower section comprises two-storey high round vault windows; the two storeys on the upper section feature verandas interspersed with 6 Doric columns on each left and right side, in a display of power. The column bases are decorated by chevron patterns and beast heads; the round vault windows are topped by ancone decorations to give the building a majestic and oppressive air.
The building features a dual-façade design. When one stands at the Parade Grounds in the CPS compound and looks back at the Headquarter Block, one would see that it is built with red bricks and is two-storey high. The two floors beneath became de facto basement levels. The façade is a colonnade design with Doric columns on the upper levels and red-brick square columns on the lower, giving off an elegant air without the oppressiveness. Those who used this entrance were mostly police officers; the entrance is smaller than that of the Hollywood Front Entrance.
On both sides of the entrance were two mortars casted in 1917. They were removed when the police force retreated from the CPS. In the past the building housed a fire trolley built over a hundred years ago. It was used by the fire services squad in the early years when the squad was still part of the police force. The trolley has also been removed.
At the ground level foyer one sees a total 8 Doric columns standing at the four corners. Tiles of various styles are used for the flooring creating an air of solemnity. In the atrium a staircase connects to the upper levels, also floored with patterned tiles. In the basement there used to be prayer rooms for Sikhs and Museums; it also housed the police training school founded in 1920. Other floors were used mostly for offices, and also served once as the dormitory of Chinese and Indian police.
