History
As it was a travel route used by the pre-European Māori, Karangahape Road is an older thoroughfare than Queen Street, which was only developed by Europeans in the 1840s. Māori sold the land for Karangahape Road and Pitt Street in 1841. The Karangahape ridge was the formal southern edge of Auckland in the 19th century.
From about 1900 to the early 1960s K' Road was Auckland's busiest shopping street with many clothing shops large and small along with several department stores. Most retail chain stores had branches here, often in preference to Queen Street. During the interwar period most of Auckland's main shops selling furniture, musical instruments, radios and household appliances were located here. It had the first traffic lights in Auckland (and the first lights to have pedestrian phases), and the first fluorescent street lights.
After 1965 K' Road lost most of its local customer base when construction of the inner-city motorway system resulted in over 50,000 people having to move out of the surrounding areas. The downturn in trade led to many shops closing and the relocating of businesses to other areas of Auckland. This accelerated the decline, and by the early 1970s the low rents meant it had acquired a rather seedy reputation as Auckland's red-light district. Since the early 1990s there has been a move away from this image due to newly constructed apartment blocks attracting residents back to the area, as well as a general gentrification of close-by areas like Ponsonby. Nowadays only very few enterprises are connected with the adult industry.
Alongside the few remaining shops and venues catering to the sex trade, K Road currently boasts an eclectic collection of shops, cafés and art galleries. At night its restaurants, bars and nightclubs make it a major part of Auckland's social scene. K Road has become a centre for much of Auckland's bohemian scene, with many venues for alternative music and fringe art as well as the LGBT community. It is also known for its trendy op shops.
The street received a major upgrade of its footpaths and street furniture which finished in 2006, at a cost of NZ$3.5 million. As of 2009, approximately 400 businesses are on K Road.
Read more about this topic: Karangahape Road
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