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Napier: Art Deco City
Napier has a unique concentration of 1930’s style architecture, especially Art Deco design, and as a result is a popular tourist destination for enthusiasts of the era. Thousands of people travel to Napier each year for their Art Deco weekend in February, and the Decanted Jazz Festival in July.
The saturation of 1930’s buildings is due solely to the 7.8 Richter magnitude earthquake that devastated the town in 1931. The New Zealand government donated approximately $3 million (a huge sum in the thirties) to the Earthquake Relief Fund. Four architectural firms banded together to rebuild the town; EA Williams, an Art Deco devotee, Finch and Westernholm, admirers of the Spanish Mission Style, JA Louise Hay, a student of the Frank Lloyd Wright school of thought and Natush and Sons, whose work was more modern. By the end of the 1930’s, Napier was the newest town in the world. These circumstances have made Napier one of the largest existing examples of art deco design in the world today.
A stroll down Marine Parade, along Napier’s waterfront, provides the best sights for Art Deco enthusiasts. Pania on the Reef, a statue similar to the Little Mermaid in Copenhagen, Denmark, commemorates the Maori legend of the sea maiden who captured the heart of the chief’s son before being transformed into a coral reef. St John’s Cathedral, with thirteen stained glass windows and a custom built Maori chapel, can be explored through a guided tour between 10am and 2pm, while the Colonnade, three beautiful arches, is a memorial to the victims of the 1931 earthquake.
Other worthwhile sites include the Egyptian influenced Municipal Theatre, the Hotel Central (now a strip club and massage parlour) and the row of colourful colonial houses (known as the Six Sisters) along Marine Parade. The ASB Bank on Emerson Street also houses the finest example of Maori carvings in New Zealand.
Napier has an Art Deco Trust, whose job is to preserve and protect this unique city. The Trust also offers tours and information on the history of Napier and the components of Art Deco design.
If you’d like a souvenir of your stay in Napier, you can’t go past The Art Deco Shop on Tennyson Street. The store sells books and videos on the various architectural genres, as well as art deco lamps, figurines, rugs, posters and home wares.
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