[4] The North Kowloon Magistracy, built in 1960 in Shek Kip Mei, later shared the workload.

Before the 1970s when Nathan Road became prosperous, Shanghai Street was the leading business corridor in Hong Kong.

From the 1970s to 1990s, the Mong Kok area of Shanghai Street was characterised by a wide variety of hostess clubs and other venues related to the sex trade; these continue to trade alongside the traditional businesses and residential units.

The Engineer's Office of the Former Pumping Station, Water Supplies Department (前水務署抽水站工程師辦公室), sometimes called "The Red Brick House" (紅磚屋), is a Grade I historical building[5][6] located at No.

In the pre-war and early post-war days Yunnan Lane, which was located by the side of the post office, became a place where professional letter writers set up their stalls.

This revitalisation project was endorsed by the Public Works Subcommittee of the Finance Committee of the Legislative Council at its meeting on 21 January 2009.

330 Shanghai Street, a post-war tong lau adjacent to the Engineer's Office of the Former Pumping Station, houses the Hong Kong International Hobby and Toy Museum.

They are composed of shops on the ground floor that open up to a public arcade or "five-foot way", and low-rented residential accommodations upstairs.

[11] Shops selling furnishings, building construction materials (such as window frames, curtains, paint and hardware), traditional Chinese utensils, Chinese and Western household kitchen tools, ceremonial items, traditional Chinese wedding gowns, grocery, snake soup as well as traditional Nepalese snacks can be found in Shanghai Street.

[11] In recent years, residents and individuals have refurbished some shophouses and converted them into restaurants, shops or artists' interaction center like Shanghai Street Artspace project managed by the Department of Creative Arts of the Hong Kong Institute of Education (HKIEd) aiming to explore, develop and learn from the artistic culture of Yau Ma Tei.

[11][15] In September 2008, the Urban Renewal Authority (URA) announced two heritage conservation plans, which proposed to preserve the ten blocks of pre-war shophouses on Shanghai Street in Mong Kok and ten other blocks on Prince Edward Road East.

[16] The projects, which costs HK$1.33 billion, is the largest single conservation initiative ever undertaken in Hong Kong.

[11] Most of the cost, about $1.23 billion, would be spent on property acquisition and tenants' rehousing of the 73 households with 220 residents in the two sites' 24 buildings.

[17] In addition, the authority plans to reserve the shops upstairs for the arts community, such as bookstores and dance studios.

[18][19] But some people see problems with the URA's plans: not so much capital a conservation strategy as an acquisition or buy-out of properties; elimination of Shanghai Street true character by removing the stores and residents.

[17] Since 2005, the Urban Renewal Authority has cooperated with different real estate developers to rehabilitate Shanghai Street.

The first rehabilitation project was Joye Fook Mansion, which is located on 466, 466A & 468 Shanghai Street, Yau Ma Tei.

The next rehabilitation project was Mei Koon Mansion located on 698–710 Shanghai Street, Mong Kok.