The head of the family, A. Dabelstein, Esq, was employed with the H. M. Schultz & Co. And here is the litle Lord Bullingdon – oh, excuse me, little Lionel Dabelstein in his donkey carriage:
Another little Dabelstein on his way to prosperity – Kenneth E. John Ainsworth Dabelstein:
The drawing room of the "Kenlion":
Stained-glass windows in the hall:
Later I found a beautiful rendering of this house in the 1906 issue of "Building News," set amid the famously picturesque downtown Shanghai mountains!
Since 1937 the former Dabelsteins' villa housed the most famous Russian cabaret, called Arcadia. After the war the building became a popular dancehall, called Airline Club. In the Communist years the villa functioned as a cultural venue for retired party members. Just how necessary was it to demolish the house in the 1990s?
