History
Before the Second World War, Lan Kwai Fong was dedicated to hawkers.
In early days, the square housed many mui yan (媒人, lit. "intermediary person"), or marriage arrangers, a role exclusively held by females. Mui yan were marriage intermediaries between two families in traditional times. It was thus known as Mui Yan Hong (媒人巷, English: Marriage Arranger Lane) or Hung Leung Hong (紅娘巷 (employing a related word for marriage arrangers)).
In 1975, German-Canadian businessman Allan Zeman, also known as the father of Lan Kwai Fong, moved to Hong Kong. He felt it needed a western style restaurant, so he opened “California” in 1983 in Lan Kwai Fong which became his claim to fame. One year later, following this success, Zeman invested HK$32 million to buy a whole block and began a new career as an entertainer and property developer eventually founding the Lan Kwai Group and developing this location into one of Hong Kong’s most popular entertainment destinations for expatriates as well as tourists. Friday and Saturday nights are often jammed with people, leading to vehicle traffic being suspended at certain times, giving the streets over to pedestrians. The square, together with a gay club "Disco Disco" founded earlier in 1978 in D'Aguilar Street, made Lan Kwai Fong and its surroundings a famous spot for night life.
From 2011, a massive change was underway, following Zeman's decision to replace his block in Lan Kwai Fong. This led to a substantial area of Lan Kwai Fong becoming a construction site, surely helping boost business in the booming bars just above, along Wyndham Street.
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—Sidney Buchman (1902–1975)