The Shanghai architect Ladislaus Hudec had an interesting background, as did his wife  Gisela, herself a fourth generation Old China Hand. Mrs. Hudec is now over 90 years old and is a treasure trove of information on her husband and his work, which she has permitted me to share with readers here.

Mr. Hudec was born in Czechoslovakia in 1893. He graduated in 1914 from the Royal  University in Budapest. In 1916 he was elected to the Royal Institute of Hungarian  Architects; in that year he was also taken prisoner by the Russians and sent to  Khabarovsk in Siberia.  In 1918 he managed to escape and make his way to Shanghai,  where he joined the firm of R.A. Curry, an  American architect. For this firm he  designed, among others, the American Club, the McTyeire School, the international  Savings Society's head office and several of their apartments buildings.

In 1925 he opened his own office and his practice continued to grow.  This is a partial  listing of buildings he subsequently designed: Country Hospital, Paulun Hospital, Margaret Williamson Hospital, Moore Memorial Church, German Church, Catholic Church on Rubicon Road, Engineering Building at Chiao Tung University, Joint Savings Society Building on Szechuan Road, the 22-story Park Hotel/joint Savings Society Building on Nanking Road, Grand Cinema, Chapei Power Station, Shanghai Leather Factory, Union Brewery, China Baptist Publication Society, and Christian Literature Society Buildings.

In addition to these impressive buildings, Hudec also designed numerous dwellings,  among which were: several for his own family, including the Hubertus Court Apartments which he owned, China United Apartments opposite the Race Course on Nanking Road, Estrella and other apartment houses on Avenue Joffre, ten houses for the Asia Realty Company on Columbia Circle, the D.V.W. house on Hardoon Road.

Mr. Hudec's innovative and elegant style added a real flair to Shanghai's a  rchitecture.  Many of his works are featured in this book.