Napier, New Zealand

The city of Napier was founded in 1855 and was named after Charles Napier, Commander-in-Chief of the British armed forces in India.  This photo was taken before the massive 1931 earthquake that measured 7.8 on the Richter scale.  Napier turned its tragic past into an architectural wonder.

Far from the world's great population centers and from the European and American cities where 20th century design evolved lies a small city that is unique.  Napier, New Zealand was rebuilt and by the end of the decade, Napier was the newest city on the globe.  Nowhere else can you see such a variety of buildings in the styles of the 1930s ..  Classical, Spanish Mission and above all Art Deco, he style of the 20th century .. in such a concentrated area.  And Napier's art Deco is unique with Maori motifs and the buildings of Louis Hay, admirer of the great Frank Lloyd Wright. 

Enhanced by palms and the angular Norfolk Island pines which are its trademark and bounded by fertile fruit and grape growing plains, dramatic hills and the shores of the South Pacific, beautiful Napier is the center of the Hawke's Bay region.  In Napier, you can enjoy the legacy of its brave rebuilding and savour the spirit of the optimistic Art Deco era.  

Napier's footprint changed drastically after the earthquake causing the seabed to rise several feet which created approximately 7,500 acres of virgin land to rebuild on.

The Auckland Savings Bank building features decorative touches that are common with Art Deco architecture. Completed sometime between 1932 and 1933 and designed by the architectural firm Crichton, McKay & Haughton, the Auckland Savings Bank's single-story facade features triangular deco patterns and symbolism inspired by New Zealand's indigenous Polynesian Maori people.  They arrived in the 1300s from Polynesia via large canoe voyages, developing a distinct culture, language and mythology.

100 Hastings Street

After the earthquake, citizens rallied together to rebuild Napier.  Art Deco design was all the rage at the time so it only made sense to rebuild in this architectural style. 

Masonic Temple

59 Tennyson Street

Hawke's Bay Museum & Art Gallery

1 Tennyson Street

The Daily Telegraph 

with lotus-topped columns

49 Tennyson Street

The Daily Telegraph was a newspaper serving Napier and the Hawke's Bay region district of New Zealand.  It was established in February 1871 by founding editor and London journalist, Richard Halkett Lord.  The newspaper remained in publication until 1999 when it merged with the Hawke's Bay Herald-Tribune to become Hawke's Bay Today in Hastings, New Zealand with editor, Chris Hyde.

1 Ossian Street

Perhaps the most iconic Art Deco building in the city, the National Tobacco Company building designed by architect, J. A. Louis Hay was completed in 1933.  The one-story structure is known for its arched entryway domed ceiling and stained glass windows. 

James Augustus Louis Hay designed a significant number of reinforced concrete structures for the new town in line with principles of earthquake-resistant construction.  His designs are distinguished from contemporary commercial buildings mainly by their exterior stylistic allusions. Characteristically, Hay's National Tobacco Company building (1933) derived its ornament not from fashionable art deco motifs, but from the work of American architects Louis Sullivan and Frank Lloyd Wright.  

A social man, Hay was well-known in Napier not only as an architect, but as a boat builder, oarsman, waterskier and actor. He cut a dashing figure walking the streets.  In summer he wore white suits, bow-ties, a panama hat and was often accompanied by his fox terrier, Spark. He was often seen driving a stylish automobile called a Minerva.

While it is true that many talented architects were employed in the city of Napier, the work of J. A. Louis Hay stands well above that of his contemporaries in quality, range and quantity.    He also built homes of interesting design and function.  This is one located in the Hawke's Bay region of Napier. 

James Augustus Louis Hay

(1881-1948)

Circa 1935