The original site of Central School (i.e. the Former Police Married Quarters) on Hollywood Road is about 6000 square metres. As one of the heritage conservation initiatives, the Chief Executive announced in his 2008-09 Policy Address that the Site would be removed from the List of Sites for Sale by Application for educational use and the promotion of creative industries. The revitalization plan will take into account the history and characteristics of the area along Hollywood Road, and will be subject to public consultation.
Central School was relocated from Gough Street to the present site in 1889. In 1894, it was renamed as Queen's College (皇仁書院). Central School was the first Government school providing upper primary and secondary education to the public. Its opening marked a new phase in the development of public education in Hong Kong. Central School is noteworthy for the education of many outstanding personalities who served Hong Kong and Mainland China with their bilingual abilities and cross-cultural experiences.
During the Second World War, the school buildings were severely damaged and were demolished in 1948 to make way for the development of the Police Married Quarters that still remain within the Site. In the early days, the Hong Kong Police Force only provided quarters for Western and Indian officers. After the War, the Police Force started providing quarters to married rank and file officers (now known as "Junior Police Officers"), including Chinese, in order to improve the morale of the Force. The Hollywood Road Police Married Quarters was the first of these police quarters.
The Antiquities and Monuments Office has conducted several investigations at the Site between December 2005 and July 2007. Remnants of the Central School were identified within and around the Site. They include granite shafts and plinths of the boundary walls, the retaining walls and the quoin stones at their corners, the flights of granite steps linking different platforms within the Site, as well as the underground stone foundations of Central School.
Architecturally, the quarters are of functional design reflecting the architecture of the modern movement, with the construction and materials clearly reflecting the architecture of their age. The Police Married Quarters had been in use since 1951 and was completely vacated in 2000.