As of July 2018, Connaught Place ranked as the ninth most expensive office location in the world, with an annual rent of $1,650 per square metre ($153 per sq ft).

[6] Prior to the construction of Connaught Place, the area was a ridge, covered with kikar trees and populated with jackals and wild pigs.

[7] The Hanuman Temple attracted many visitors from the old walled city, who came only on Tuesdays and Saturdays and before sunset, as the return trip was considered dangerous.

The displaced people were relocated in Karol Bagh to the west, a rocky area that had previously been populated only by trees and wild bushes.

Nicholls, the chief architect to the Government of India, the plans featured a central plaza based on the European Renaissance and in the Classical style.

However, Nicholls left India in 1917, and with Lutyens and Baker preoccupied with the construction of larger buildings in the capital, design of the plaza was eventually entrusted with Robert Tor Russell, chief architect to the Public Works Department (PWD), Government of India, who worked with Sir Sobha Singh in the construction of New Delhi.

Connaught Place's Georgian architecture is modelled after the Royal Crescent in Bath, designed by the architect John Wood the Younger and built between 1767 and 1774.

Some of the other oldest and still-extant establishments include Ram Chandra & Sons (1935), Novex (1937), Dhoomi Mal Gallery (1936),[12] Vaish at Rivoli (1939), Indian Arts Palace (1935),[13] Mahatta & Company (1947).

[14] Most rulers of the Indian princely states had residences near King's Way (modern-day Rajpath) and frequently visited nearby shops for designer clothing, artifacts, shoes, and pianos.

[7][11][15] Initially, only Indian snacks were available in the area; gradually, restaurants opened in the plaza, with outlets like Kwality, United Coffee House and others offering Continental and Mughlai cuisines.

It was here that Jawaharlal Nehru, Mohandas K. Gandhi, Muhammad Ali Jinnah and Lord Mountbatten met to discuss the Partition of India and the birth of Pakistan.

However, it took another decade for the plaza to transform into the bustling marketplace it would later become, as World War II began and the Indian independence movement intensified and reached a feverish pitch.

[7][11][15] Until the 1980s, a Phatphat Sewa, a Harley Davidson rickshaw service, took visitors from Connaught Place to the Red Fort and Chandani Chowk, before it ceased operations due to pollution concerns.

In the coming years it hosted Western Classical music artists, Russian ballet and British theatre groups, and soon started morning and afternoon movie shows.

The Plaza and Rivoli are now owned by multiplex giant PVR Cinemas, while the Odeon runs as a joint venture with Reliance Big Pictures.

The Central Park of Connaught Place has gained a reputation for hosting cultural events and is regarded as one of the city's top local hangouts.

[23][24][25][26] The first known Indian to hoist the tricolour flag at Connaught Place was Padma Shri Mir Mushtaq Ahmad, the first Chief Executive Councillor of Delhi.

Before independence, when Connaught Place was seen as the heart of British imperial India, he would annually hoist the tricolour at the bandstand in Central Park on January 26.

Redevelopment work to revamp Connaught Place ahead of the 2010 Commonwealth Games was slated to be completed in time; however, owing to huge cost overruns and undue delays,[30] this deadline was not met.

The Performance Audit Report prepared by Controller and Auditor General, India, on the Commonwealth Games 2010 concluded that there were "significant deficiencies in contract management, with consequent avoidable expenditure".

On 5 January 2017, the Union Urban Development Ministry announced a plan to convert the middle and inner circles of Connaught Place, into an exclusive pedestrian zone, starting February 2017.

Over the years, Connaught Place has been the location of many films including sequences in Dil Se.. (1998), Hazaaron Khwaishein Aisi (2003), Pyaar Ke Side Effects (2006), 3 Idiots (2009), Aisha (2010), Delhi Belly (2011), Rockstar (2011), Ahista Ahista (2006), Agent Vinod, Vicky Donor (2012), Hate Story (2011), Special 26 (2013), A Wednesday (2008), Rang De Basanti (2006), PK (2014) and 2 States (2014).