NZ visual diary - entry 99
Landmark House - a marriage of Gothic & Art Deco styles
People who have viewed other posts in my NZ visual diary may recognise this building -- Landmark House -- and notably its eight-storey Art Deco tower. Entry 92 rendered a scene along a narrow section of Durham Street East. The image from entry 92 is reproduced below:
The tower anchors the western intersection of Durham at Queen Street.
In its website entry on Landmark House, Heritage New Zealand Pouhere Taonga celebrates the architectural significance of the building. It is worth reproducing its narrative here:
Landmark House is one of Queen Street's most distinctive buildings, and was built as the headquarters of the Auckland Electricity Power Board (AEPB) in 1928-1930. An eight-storey Art Deco tower with a corner turret, the building was effectively an advert for the AEPB, which was a public body and the sole provider of electricity in the isthmus. Electricity had recently superseded gas and coal as a major source of power, and the AEPB celebrated the dawning of a new era by opening this building on the same day as the hydro-electric dam constructed by the Public Works Department at Arapuni in the southern Waikato.
The headquarters was a self-consciously modern building, described as a 'miniature skyscraper' when built, and was one of the tallest structures in Auckland. It was the first building in the city to be floodlit and was proclaimed to have the fastest lift in the country. It was also a celebration of communal pride, with New Zealand motifs being used and local firms - including the architects, Wade and Bartley - preferred in its construction. The AEPB offices were located on the upper floors of the building, while the rest was rented out to other commercial and retail businesses. A ninth floor was added to the building in 1933. The AEPB moved their headquarters in 1968, taking a panelled boardroom to their newer premises in Newmarket. The building has since undergone a number of changes, including substantial internal alterations in the 1980s. It was refurbished as offices and retail space in 2000, when original features in its lobby were conserved.
Landmark House is significant as a highly individual landmark and is the most striking early skyscraper-style building in northern New Zealand. Its pressed cement facade, patented by Hall and Stanborough, is especially unusual while notable internal elements are retained in its lobby and original top floor. It has considerable historical importance for demonstrating the contribution of publicly owned utilities in the early twentieth century and the emergence of electricity as a major energy supply. Its value is enhanced by its proximity to other historic buildings in Queen Street, including those linked to contemporary electric technology, such as cinemas.1
https://www.heritage.org.nz/the-list/details/4470