Introduction
Text for this tour has been kindly provided by Auckland Council. When Auckland became the capital of New Zealand in 1841 the government buildings and military barracks were established on the Princes St. ridge. The route between the landing place and foreshore market place, known as Shortland Crescent, naturally developed as the commercial area. Service lanes grew to accommodate workmen and workshops in what are now High, O'Connell and Chancery Streets. In 1858 fire broke out in the Osprey Inn in High Street and spread rapidly through the closely built wooden buildings. As a result of the large-scale destruction businesses rebuilt in Queen St where the sites were larger, the gradient flatter and where the drainage problems were being addressed. This enabled more substantial and grandiose buildings to be built. Queen Street thus took over the 'main street' mantle. While Queen St has remained predominantly commercial and retail, High and O'Connell Streets and the connecting lanes have passed through many stages. From early residential and workshop origins, the 1860s saw a concentration of publishing and printing houses. Vulcan Lane's Queens Ferry and Occidental Hotels were favoured haunts of journalists and printers. Named for the Vulcan Forgeestablished here in 1846, it became known as Vultures Lane frequented by prostitutes, peddlers, cockfights and bookmakers. This changed somewhat when the Magistrates Court, built in 1911, attracted law firms to the area. The concentration of public buildings around Freyberg Place lasted till the late 1880s when the Library, Police Station and Council Offices moved to new locations. It remains a mixed use area with offices and residential apartments side by side. Numerous shops, restaurants and cafes are a vital part of the vibrant social atmosphere and sense of history. A rich and varied architectural history is evident including fine examples of Victorian, Edwardian, Arts and Crafts, Art Deco and Modern buildings. From the 1930s depression to the present there has been little new development, only ten new buildings have been built since 1939. Begin this walk on the corner of Queen and Swanson Streets at the historic Bank of New Zealand facade. The buildings visible across Queen Street are some of the earliest remaining in this area dating from the 1860s to the 1880s. From the late 1860s the appearance of Queen Street underwent a transformation as ornamented plastered brick buildings replaced small wooden shops. This change was led by banks and insurance companies. Investors and developers followed with the construction of more elaborate retail and commercial buildings.Text for this tour is Copyright Auckland Council.
The Establishment of Early Auckland
The narrow Auckland isthmus, located between the Pacific Ocean and the Tasman Sea, was well known to the great Polynesian navigators who settled Aotearoa (New Zealand) a thousand years ago.Ta-maki Herenga Waka – 'Ta-maki – the Destination of Voyagers' is an ancient name for the Auckland Isthmus. Waka (canoes) arriving from the Pacific Islands with new seed stocks and migrants sought the narrowest part of the isthmus at Ota-huhu in south Auckland, with its 800m portage between our two great oceans. Later voyagers found Ta-maki heavily populated. Some married into local communities while others continued south in search of new lands. With excellent gardening soils, fish stocks and natural fortifications - the volcanic cones - Ta-maki became and still is today, the centre of the largest Maori civilisation in the world.Through Hua Kaiwaka's leadership the various tribes of the Ta-maki Isthmus were united under the confederation known as Te Waiohua. Under his reign, Ta-maki saw an unprecedented period of peace and prosperity that lead to sayings such as : 'Te pai me te whai rawa o Tamaki'; 'The wealth and luxury of Tamaki'.Ngati Whatua, provoked into attack by Te Waiohua in the mid seventeenth century, took control of the Isthmus through peace marriages and occupation of the volcanic fortresses. However, peace would be interrupted again two generations later as the local tribes were displaced during the inter-tribal 'Musket Wars' that engulfed the country from 1820 to 1840.In September 1840 Ngati Whatua leader Te Kawau gifted 3000 acres of land to Governor Hobson on behalf of the crown. The central commercial district of modern Auckland was included in this gift that established the city. Te Kawau sought military protection, new medicines and trade to bring peace and prosperity to his people. Within 20 years he had lost nearly all his land and was shut out of city administration and governance. Despite this, his descendants have today recovered much of their valuable land in central Auckland and are significant contributors to the local economy and cultural life of the city.The first group of settlers and government officials travelled from Russell in the Bay of Islands to Auckland on the Anna Watson in late September 1840. Auckland was chosen as the capital of New Zealand because, like Maori before them, the colonial government recognised its strategic location with access to the Waitemata, Manukau and Kaipara Harbours and to the interior of the North Island by way of the Waikato River. It remained the capital until 1865 when the function was transferred to Wellington. From the outset, Commercial Bay at the base of Queen Street was the commercial centre of the settlement. In 1841 Surveyor General, Felton Mathew, drew up a plan for the new city. His starting point was the Waihorotiu Stream, later dubbed the "Ligar Canal"�, which ran down present-day Queen Street into Commercial Bay. Though parts of the plan were later abandoned, Mathew's design provides the layout for many of the city's main streets and the reclamations of Freemans Bay, Commercial Bay and Mechanics Bay.By 1844 Queen, Princes and Shortland streets were formed and metalled. The government centre developed around the Princes Street area where soon were located Government House, the parliament, the court and the barracks for the British 58th Regiment as well as the substantial homes of many of Auckland's leading citizens. Shortland Street, which linked Commercial Bay with the government centre, became the first and most developed commercial thoroughfare in the city.Auckland grew rapidly. By 1841 the population was 2000, made up of settlers relocating from the Bay of Islands, immigrants from Australia and Great Britain, and Maori. Religious orders also made Auckland their base with large land holdings being established by the Roman Catholic Church in Freemans Bay and the Church of England in Parnell. The early commercial life of the settlement was based on gum, timber, flax, and fat stock farming and re-exporting to other settlements.While initial development focussed on Commercial Bay at the bottom of Queen Street, by 1864 the limits of Auckland were Parnell in the east and Freemans Bay in the west. During the 1860s, after the drainage and health problems caused by the Ligar Canal had been resolved, Queen Street began to progressively overtake Shortland Street as the predominant commercial strip. Substantial reclamation of the Waitemata Harbour was carried out during the 1860s and 1870s and continued throughout the 1880s. Auckland soon became the major port in northern New Zealand and a chief port of call for the Pacific.During the 1870s and 1880s there was a great surge in immigration. The population expanded from 7000 in 1861 to 33,000 in 1886. This led to great commercial expansion and the building of more substantial masonry buildings of two and three storeys. In this period the art gallery and library, the hospital and many churches, hotels andcommercial buildings were constructed.Progressive periods of redevelopment reinforced Queen Street as the commercial, retail, transportation and entertainment hub of Auckland. After the 1920s the mixture of residential, warehousing and industrial uses in the inner city were steadily replaced by commercial uses. Recent development in the central area has seen a more vibrant mixture of residential and commercial uses occur. A growing interest in the history of the city has led to the retention of many of Auckland's significant heritage buildings.
Blacketts Building
86-92 Queen StreetBuilt in 1879 as head office for South British Insurance Co, it was designed by architects Richard Keals and Sons. The ornate Victorian Italianate style reflected the growing optimism in the economic future of New Zealand. South British Insurance Co., established by Auckland businessmen in 1872 to cover marine and fire risks, prospered due to the importance of shipping to the colony. A fourth storey in the same style was added in 1912, designed by architect Edward Bartley. It is a fine example of Auckland commercial architecture of the period. The name Blackett is that of the landowner, J.C. Blackett. He established a scholarship to St. John's College provided by the revenue from the lease as a memorial to his deceased wife.
94-96 Queen Street
94-96 Queen StreetDesigned by architects Richard Keals &Sons, this building was built in 1882 for Messrs Chapman and Goldwater, as a pair to the Italianate facade of Craig's Building next door. The upper floors were used as offices.
Craigs Building
98-100 Queen Street.An exclusive dining establishment by the name of St Mungo's Cafe and Confectionery was established on this site in 1855. The present building was also designed by Richard Keals & Sons in an ornate Victorian Italianate style, and opened in 1882 as the new St Mungos Cafe. While a shop and public dining room occupied the ground floor, the two upper floors were reserved for private dining, ladies dining, smoking rooms and private lounges. In 1906 J.J. Craig Merchants moved into part of the building and by 1920 occupied the entire space. A successful entrepreneur in coal and timber, J.J.Craig owned 42 ships for trade around New Zealand and to Australia.
Boots Dispensing Chemist
104 Queen Street.This building is one of the earliest buildings in Queen Street, built in the 1860s for the leading drapery establishment of old Auckland, Graham & Company. At the time the Graham Brothers, David and John advised the elite on the latest fashions from London and Paris.
Bank of New Zealand Building Facade
Cross Queen Street to the corner of Queen and Shortland Streets. Look back across Queen Street (125 Queen Street).In 1865 the directors of the Bank of New Zealand commissioned the distinguished Melbourne architect, Leonard Terry, to design a new head office. The imposing Greek revival facade was described as "unquestionably the finest in Auckland" when the bank opened in 1867. Also brought from Australia was plate glass for windows, a hundred tonnes of Hobart stone for the facade as well as stonemasons. A special footpath of polished York stone further enhanced the bank. The building was enlarged in 1882 with the construction of an additional two bays to the north. One hundred years later it was threatened with demolition after its sale by the BNZ. However, through negotiation the facade was preserved while a multi-storey tower was built behind.
NZI House (South British Insurance)
Walk up Shortland Street. One of the first streets to be formed, it connected the old landing place with the administration centre on the ridge of Princes Street. From the earliest days it was a commercial centre (5-13 Shortland Street). An early 'high rise', its nine stories are clad in sandstone with the base made of Coromandel granite. Minimally decorated, the accent is on its vertical form which is relieved by elaborate string courses. It was designed in 1927 by R.F. Draffin of the well known firm of Grierson, Aimer and Draffin for the South British Insurance Co. Influences of the turn of the century Chicago style can be seen in the double storey pilasters at the base and window treatments. Stripped classical detailing is continued inside the building, where the lobby has a coffered ceiling, marble facings and decorative bronze grilles. The building has been redeveloped for commercial and residential use, with extra floors added in 2001.
De Brett's Hotel
Corner Shortland and High Streets.Hotels played a major role as social venues and public meeting places in the life of the nascent city. There has been one on this site since Auckland's earliest days. The original 1841 wooden Commercial Hotel was destroyed by the great fire of 1858. Rebuilt in brick, it was the victim of fire again in 1926. Wade and Bartley designed the present concrete building in a stripped Classical style with restrained decorative elements. The High Street entrance incorporates Italian Serpentine stone panels.
Jackson and Russell's Building
23 Shortland Street.Constructed in 1918, the Jackson and Russell Building was designed by architect Daniel B Paterson. It housed a range of professional practices, and reflects a change in the High Street area from a neglected mixture of warehouse, commercial and residential uses to a well-consolidated business district, which was described as the hub of the legal fraternity. The building demonstrates the neo-classical style that was still the predominant force in the design of New Zealand public and commercial buildings at the time.
General Buildings
Corner Shortland and O'Connell Streets.This grand building designed for the Yorkshire Insurance Co. by W.R. Bloomfield in 1928 uses its corner site to advantage. The architecture reflects the monumental features of the Chicago style with round arches at the base, large glazed openings, neo-classical detailing and the fine proportions. The facades are symmetrical with arched ground floor windows and the entrance doors are surmounted by bronze decorative work. The two uphill bays were added in the 1980s to match the original. The entrance foyer features panels of Whangarei marble and pilasters with gilt plasterwork ornamentation. Of particular interest is the decorative staircase banister. Walk through the lobby of the General Buildings and exit onto O'Connell Street. This area was Auckland's earliest slum. Set well back from the two main commercial streets the allotments were bought up by speculators in the first land sales and soon subdivided. Being conveniently located between the port and the barracks where most activity was taking place it soon became overcrowded. The narrow lanes gave access to 'sly grog shops, receiving houses, and skittle grounds', complained the NZ Herald & Auckland Gazette in 1841. The overcrowded conditions were exacerbated by the sloping terrain, poor drainage and a slaughter house further uphill.
Royal Exchange Assurance Building
Designed by Chilwell and Trevithick in 1925, this is one of a group of buildings constructed in the mid to late 1920s, which transformed O'Connell Street. The detailing demonstrates traditional Classical influences, however the building reflects a transition to a more modern architectural style with its increased size of window openings. The entrance doors have an elaborate bronze grille surmounted by the letters REA. The original cage lift still functions.
Administrator House (Opposite)
The facade of this impressive building is of Oamaru limestone above a base of Nelson marble. Also built in 1925 for the Alliance Assurance Co. It was designed by Rough and Hooper to promote a clearly recognisable visual corporate identity. The medallions on the exterior are the Alliance Assurance emblems showing a quadrangular castle standing on a rock symbolising strength and security. The high quality craftsmanship in the interior stone and plasterwork can be seen in the main ground floor chamber.
Chancery Chambers
Corner Chancery Street and O'Connell Street.Designed by T.C. Mullions and J. Sholto Smith, the original drawings of a much more decorated version show how modern architects adapted traditional styles such as Gothic to concrete construction. It was built at the height of the post World War I building boom between 1924-25 for a private company formed to deal in land and buildings. With its tower, rounded corner and accentuated vertical features it is a focal point of the area, which retains much of the scale and character of 1920s commercial Auckland. The circular entrance lobby has a mosaic floor, marble walls and plastered coffered ceiling. It houses the offices of the Auckland District Law Society. A plaque in the lobby commemorates the site of the first house in Auckland. John Logan Campbell, a young Scottish entrepreneur, arrived in Auckland with stores to sell to the new capital's settlers. He became a successful businessman, land owner, Mayor and a benefactor to Auckland. He built his cottage 'Acacia' here in 1841. Acacia cottage has been relocated to Cornwall Park, a large farm park which Campbell donated to the city. It has been restored and is open to the public.
Freyberg Place
This recently redeveloped public space commemorates one of New Zealand's most distinguished soldiers, Lord Bernard Freyberg VC, Commander-in-Chief of the Second New Zealand Division. He commanded the Expeditionary Force in North Africa and Italy during World War II and was New Zealand's Governor General between 1946-52. The bronze statue of him by sculptor Anthony Stones, stands on the south side of the place. Over the years, the junction of High Street and Chancery Street housed public buildings. Up till the 1880's the Courthouse and the Police Station along with the Library in the Mechanics Institute were located around this area.
Stone Steps
The first Wesleyan Chapel was built here in 1843 and was replaced by a brick church in 1848, the Stone Steps of which can be seen leading up to the Metropolis tower.
Pioneer Womens and Ellen Melville Hall
Built in 1962 by Auckland City Council as a centre for women, this modern building of reinforced concrete, steel and glass was designed by Tibor. K. Donner who, in his role as City Architect, designed a number of significant modern Auckland public buildings. The hall is dedicated to the memory of Ellen Melville, one of New Zealand's first woman lawyers and the first female Auckland City Councillor. It was designed to serve as a meeting place for women's organisations complete with rest rooms and creche. It features a large hall on the first floor for receptions, meetings and dramatic productions. Two small committee rooms cater for meetings and lectures. To the east of Freyberg Place is the recent Chancery retail and commercial development built on the site of Warspite St and Baron's Lane and earlier commercial buildings which were demolished in the late 1980s.
McKenzies Building
27 High Street (Across the street)Built around the turn of the century it was bought by Andrews and Clark in 1912. This large furniture manufacturer and retailer used the Queen Street frontage as a shop and that on High Street as a workshop. In 1929 the well known philanthropist John McKenzie bought the property next door to establish an Auckland branch of a nationwide department store. In 1959 McKenzies incorporated the building into its store, which became an icon of New Zealand retailing.
Canterbury Arcade Annex
47 High Street.In 1965 architect Peter Beavan designed this office block, which along with two older buildings form the Canterbury Arcade from Queen Street through to High Street. Utilising modern materials and construction techniques Beavan introduced qualities he had admired in the streetscapes of European cities. The slim High Street facade has balconies, verandas, French windows, shutters and a Parisian garret-like penthouse.
Victoria Street Lava Flow
The Victoria Street Carpark building is located on the approximate site of a volcanic vent which erupted at least 60,000 years ago causing a flow of basalt down Victoria Street toward the Queen Street valley. This flow of lava has created the levelling of Queen Street between Victoria and Wellesley Streets. Research using drilled core samples is currently underway to map the extent of the lava flow and other hidden features of this tiny, short-lived early inner city volcano. At the top of Victoria Street is Albert Park, Auckland's premier inner-city park which was established in 1882 on land previously occupied by the military barracks. Opposite the end of High Street in Victoria Street is the Lister Building and adjacent is the former AMP building, now FAI Finance.
Lister Building
Victoria Street WestNamed for the British surgeon and medical scientist Sir Joseph Lister, the building was intended as offices for medical practitioners and dentists. It was built in 1924-25 and designed by Thomas Mullions. Capitalising on the corner site it is influenced by the Chicago style of office blocks. Renovations in the late 1980s removed much of the plaster decoration. With 120 offices, some occupied by dentists, the building has uncomfortable memories for many older Aucklanders.
AMP Building
Corner Queen and Victoria Street West.Described as a "scaled down Kiwi version of the glass skyscraper of America", the AMP Building built in 1962 reflected contemporary architectural and structural developments. Designed by Jack Manning of Thorpe, Cutter, Pickmere & Douglas the building is sheathed in a curtain wall consisting of aluminum frames clad in stainless steel, and glazed with heat absorbing glass and green opaque glass spandrel panels. The columns are clad with South African black granite. French marble was used in the foyer and Italian travertine laid on the pavement around the building. It is one of the earliest modern high-rise commercial buildings in Auckland, and reflects a period of significant change in the character and pattern of development in Auckland city.
Whitcoulls Building (John Courts)
204 Queen Street.This prominent corner site lent itself to a grand architectural style. Designed by architect John Currie in 1899 for the Direct Supply Company, the first three stories are in the Victorian Italianate style. Internally the building retains its timber columns and floor structure. In 1910 John Court opened his department store in the building and in 1916 added three stories in the same style. The department store of five floors offered merchandise for every household requirement. After a shopping expedition to the city the family could relax in the roof-garden tearooms and be entertained by an orchestra. A memorial lamp to John Court, who died in 1933, still stands on the roof.
Lewis Eady Building
192-196 Queen Street.The first two floors were originally built in the 1870s as a music theatre, the Hippodrome. In 1927-1928 architect D.G. Plumley extended the building for Lewis Eady to include a recording studio and a chamber music auditorium which now forms part of the World De Luxe store accessed and visible from the Little High Street arcade at the rear. Note the elaborate cornice above the middle window of the third floor. Two additional levels of apartments were added in 2000.
Whitcombe and Tombs Building
186 Queen Street.Chilwell and Trevithick designed this building with a heavy plain facade in 1925. The Queen Street facade is divided into three bays with a curved pediment over the middle one. A cantilevered cornice separates the fourth and fifth floors. The venerable company was founded in Christchurch in 1882 by George Whitcombe bookseller and George Tombs, printer. Educational publishing was the mainstay of the company when it came to Auckland in 1916. The name Whitcombe and Tombs became synonymous with bookshops throughout New Zealand. In 1971 the firm was merged to become Whitcoulls. In 1991 the store moved to Whitcoulls (former John Courts) Building, and additional levels of apartments were added in 2000 to the original.
Premier Building
Continue down Queen Street. On the opposite side of Durham St East is.Constructed in 1907, Premier Building is an example of the response to the need for professional offices in the city centre as a result of economic growth. Offices for lawyers, accountants, doctors and dentists were provided above street level retail. Designed by Robert de Montalk in the Edwardian Italianate style it has suffered little modification and the interior is largely intact with pressed metal dado panels and ceilings. The New Zealand Historic Places Trust occupies offices on the second and third floors.
Canterbury Arcade
174 Queen Street.The Brunswick Building was built at the same time and by the same architects as its neighbour, the Warwick Building. It is one of the four buildings forming the Canterbury Arcade. Influences of Art Nouveau can be seen in the elegant symmetry of the bay windows and restrained decoration. The parapet of the central bay is higher and arched with a decorative swag, and decorative cords descend the pilasters from parapet to below fourth level. Warwick Building 166 Queen StreetThe influences of Art Nouveau can also be seen in the simple ornamentation on the facade of this building constructed in 1914. Designed by Wade & Wade for musical instrument importer, Arthur Eady, many tenants were associated with music; teachers of dance and instrument, and the Auckland Orchestral Society. The shop housed a sports shop from 1920 which catered to 'every requisite for Cricket, Golf, Football, Boxing, Angling, Tennis, Croquet and Shooting'. It is now incorporated into the Canterbury Arcade.
Landmark House
Corner Queen and Durham Street.Landmark House (behind you), has a grand entrance with ornamental brass doors and marble cladding. Referred to as an 'exuberant folly' its soaring lines and ornamentation represent a break with previous Classical styles of commercial architecture. New Zealand motifs evident in the exterior and interior decoration are a deliberate attempt to give a New Zealand identity to the building. The 60ft high shafts of molded and exposed aggregate concrete made in Auckland were unique at the time. The interior public spaces were decorated with Italian marble, bronze and carved kauri wood. It was built for the Auckland Electric Power Board 1927-1930 to a design by Wade and Bartley. To promote the use of electricity the exterior was illuminated with shafts of coloured light.
Bluestone Store
Durham Lane.Walk up Durham Street West, turn right into lane. This is the oldest remaining commercial building in Auckland. Built in 1861 as a warehouse for storekeepers Bernhard Levy and Nathan Goldwater the exterior walls are of volcanic stone. It was used as a warehouse for various companies and for thirty years the Kiwi Boot Polish Company produced its famous shoe polish in this building. During the 1970s it was a rock music venue.
Albert Street Steps and Toilets
Durham Street West.Return to Durham Street. The bluestone wall at the top is the oldest piece of road construction in the central city. The men's toilets were constructed underneath the road in 1880 to 'satisfy standards of social and visual decency'. The cast iron screens at the entrance and within have large Star of David motifs. Just inside is a framed reproduction of 1906 proposed alterations by Trevithick. The cast iron railing and lamp archway were also part of this development.
Shakespeare Hotel
Climb the stairs to Albert St, or return to Queen Street and continue to 31, Ellison Chambers. Turn right along Albert St. Before turning down Wyndham Street you will see on the opposite corner.This typical Victorian corner hotel was built in 1898 by Thomas Foley. The kitchen, laundry, wine and beer cellars were in the basement, on the ground floor were two private bars, a public bar and three large sitting rooms; on the first floor were the dining rooms, sitting rooms and three bedrooms; the floor above had ten bedrooms and the attic a further three. The corner site allowed the guests to access their apartments from Albert Street without having to pass through or in proximity to the bar - an excellent arrangement for ladies and families. It was popular with farmers coming to Auckland for its proximity to the sale yards. The Shakespeare is one of the small group of surviving and protected Victorian/Edwardian 'corner pubs'.
Blackstone Chambers
Turn right down Wyndham Street (14 Wyndham Street).Named after William Blackstone (1723-1780) who first attempted to put the whole of English law into one volume, this building was once part of a small legal precinct at the bottom of Wyndham Street. It was designed by architect Henry Wade, and built in 1882 for John Marshall. The offices of one of Auckland's longest running newspapers, The Star, were here in the 1880s. An enterprising Henry Brett housed carrier pigeons on the roof. This flock of well-trained birds brought news from the Thames goldfields and of overseas ships' arrivals from Russell. The building has also housed the legal practice of Thorne Thorne White & Clark-Walker since the early 1900s.
Ellison Chambers
138-146 Queen Street.Despite being only six floors, Ellison Chambers is technically an early skyscraper as it has a concrete encased steel frame with pre-cast reinforced concrete slab floors. One of the earliest buildings in Auckland to be designed in the Classical Free Style, the brick giant order pilasters with plain capitals give height to the building. Built for Mr Ellison a retired shoemaker in 1913-14, it has always housed shops, banks and offices. It was designed by Daniel B. Patterson.
Vulcan Building
118-124 Queen Street.The design of the Vulcan Building incorporates historical motifs popular in the Chicago office building style. Designed in 1928 by Holman, Moses and Watkins, the reinforced concrete frame is detailed to look like stonework. With the splayed corner, tower, cupola and balconies, the design expresses the exuberance of the era. The lobby retains the original terrazzo floor, marble detailing and timber lift carriages.
Prudential Building
112 Queen Street.The building had an association with the music industry, selling musical instruments and published music. It was constructed for Arthur Eady Ltd in 1939 and later occupied by Messrs Charles Begg and Co. Ltd, who were also in the music business. Designed by architects Chilwell and Trevithick the building attracted considerable interest because of the extensive use of cream, red and green opaque Vitrolite spandrel panels along both the Queen Street and Vulcan Lane facades. In 1960 it was sold to Prudential Insurance and the glass was covered with plaster or removed. Cross Queen Street into Vulcan Lane Vulcan Lane with its early Victorian hotels and pedestrian nature is evocative of the street life that existed during the mid to late 19th century although its width was doubled in 1928. Originating as a service lane between High Street and Queen Street it is believed to have been named after James McLeods 'Vulcan Foundry' in 1850. With the establishment of the two hotels, the area became a social centre attracting an 'evil population' who were described in 1890s as prostitutes, peddlers, larrikins and juvenile delinquents who indulged in cockfighting and bookmaking. The name Vulture's Lane was frequently applied. In the early part of the 20th century there was an increase in offices for lawyers and other professionals in the lane. The buildings on the southern side date from this time. At the instigation of business associations Vulcan Lane became a pedestrian mall in 1967.
Occidental Hotel
6-8 Vulcan Lane.A hotel was first built on this site in 1870 for the colourful character Edward Perkins, on the original site of the forge of blacksmith James McLeod. The forge produced ironwork for ships being fitted up in the port. Inadequate foundations have resulted in the distinctive "lean"� to the hotel. Edward Perkins, a Yankee and former sailor, set new standards in hotel keeping in the city. In addition to the bar and accommodation the hotel provided a reading room, billiard room and cafe as well as a famous museum of curios, paintings, animals, birds, fish and autographs. In 1884 the old Occidental Hotel was demolished and the present building was built. It was designed by Mahoney and Sons, one of Auckland's most prominent early architectural practices. The interiors have recently been sympathetically adapted by the Belgian brewers Stella Artois. The Occidental's highly ornamented facade is a good example of the Victorian Italianate corner pub style once common in Auckland. The single-storey section was the famous billiard room, and the original ceiling and lay-light can be seen in the bar.
Leon Brook Models
10 Vulcan Lane.This handsome brick building between the two famous watering holes has an uncertain provenance but is probably the result of a 1900s modernisation of an older building. During World War I it was offices for several trotting and jockey clubs while the bookmakers did business next door. In 1920 it was bought by Arthur Eady's music business and has stayed within that family. The Coffee Bean Lounge occupied the basement during the 1950s, 60s and 70s, and along with its two neighbours, contributed to Vulcan Lane becoming a focus for Auckland's youth culture of the time.
Queens Ferry Hotel
12 Vulcan Lane.Named after its owner John Robertson's home of Queens Ferry, Scotland, the building was built around 1858 as a general store. The Robertson family is believed to have operated the first sawmill in Auckland in Vulcan Lane. In 1865 Robertson opened the building as a hotel, and in 1882 another storey was added with more bedrooms, and sitting rooms to a design by the architect Edward Bartley. There were alterations to the hotel in 1902 by architect Robert de Montalk. The two Vulcan Lane pubs were significant in Auckland's social history as the meeting places for journalists, and bases for licensed bookmakers. While the patrons of the Occidental tended to be commercial and professional men, the Queens Ferry was the pub most frequented by journalists.
Giffords Building
4 Vulcan Lane.Designed by M.K. Draffin for Alfred Gifford in 1929, this art deco influenced building uses its corner position as a design feature. The corner is splayed and accentuated as a vertical bay with strong horizontal lines down both facades. The entrance lobby has a frieze at the top of the wall in sculptured plaster in pastel colours and the brass doors of the lift are emblazoned with the initials GB.
Norfolk House
Vulcan Lane.Completed in early 1912 it was designed to contain fifty offices. The Auckland Star noted at the time that, 'it would be lit throughout with electricity, and there will be an electric lift'. Designed in a stripped classical style, this building takes advantage of its corner location with a curved facade and arched windows above its main entrance.
