Note: There is already a place for Spring Garden Lane - Sampan Street [????- ]
Named after: Possibly meaning "water spring" which refers to a creek beside Hopewell Centre in Queen's Road East.
Details:
Spring Garden Lane is a short street in Wanchai between Johnston Road and Kennedy Road, it is only 370 m long. It runs southwards from Johnston Road, after about 70 m it turns to southwest. The road which runs straight ahead is Sam Pan (Sampan) Street.
In the early 1900s, Spring Garden Lane and Sam Pan Street (三板街) became a red-light district with western and eastern prostitutes. To attract attention, brothels were displaying large street number plates, and the area became known as "Big Number Brothels". (Wikipedia, see also here)
Timeline: <dates are approximate>
- 1859??: Street first laid out, from Cross Street from Queen's Road
- 1865??: Street extended to Johnston Road (after first Wanchai reclamation)
- 1889: Name appears on a map (not necessarily the date of naming)
- 1913??: Street extended to Kennedy Road (appears on the 1913 map), but probably only for pedestrians as there are stairs today
Note: Some of the photos attributed to Spring Garden Lane may (also) show Sam Pan Street.
Photos of this street:
