Commercial Building

• 1896
• Probable original construction
• 2004
• Majority of building, except Cuba Street façade, demolished
• 2007
• 221-225 Cuba Street, for café to open to the public once construction work is complete (00078:2650:171320)
• 2008
• 221-237 Cuba Street, fitout and plumbing of retail tenancy 5, textile art gallery and book shop (00078:2686:177823)
• 2008
• 221 Cuba Street [213-233 Cuba Street], enlarge existing bathroom and minor adjustments to apartment 4G Street (00078:2697:180461)

• unknown
• Not Assessed

Not assessed

221- 225 Cuba Street is the remnant façade of an 1896 row of three two-storey shop/dwellings.

This building was originally constructed in timber framing on concrete foundations and piles, clad in rusticated weatherboard, with a corrugated iron roof. It was designed to house three shops on the ground floor with residences above, a common feature of Edwardian Cuba Street. The façade is very plain and features three pairs of arch headed windows in the first floor that were once separated by concrete fire walls. The building is capped by a standard bracketed cornice and timber parapet. There is no ornament on the façade and its simplicity is a strength, with the uncomplicated character of the building providing a degree of contrast to the Cuba Street townscape. The façade has some rarity value as one of the few remaining timber commercial facades of this type, style and size, in the central business district.

In 2004 this building was one of several on Cuba Street to be included in a hotel redevelopment. The front façade of this building was removed and placed in storage at this time, while the remainder of the building was demolished. Following the construction of the new hotel, the timber façade was reinstated into the new development.

The reproduction shop-fronts and tiled shop entrances are pleasant modern interventions, as is the somewhat over-scale modern verandah.

221-225 Cuba Street is part of a large two-hotel development that also incorporates the northern annexe of the former People’s Palace Hotel (WCC 16/89.3), the former Railton/People’s Palace Hotel (WCC 16/89.4), and the façade of a pleasant c.1920 two-storey stripped Classical commercial building (WCC Cuba St Heritage Area – contributor). The two retained facades form part of the street-edge of the southernmost hotel in this development. The bulk of the hotel is set back from the street in the form of two, tall, towers that are somewhat taller than their neighbours. The jumbled grey modern shop-fronts to the south complete the hotel development and are, along with the functional Ellmers building (with its distinctive concrete ‘shod’ verandah posts), non-contributors to the Heritage Area.

The CQ hotel development is set in the Cuba Street Heritage Area on a section of Cuba Street between Vivian and Abel Smith streets. This stretch of Cuba Street has a startling entrance at the southern end of great architectural and cultural contrast. It sets the extremely dignified former National Bank building (now up-market restaurant Logan Brown) opposite the simple, if dignified, Morgan’s building. The remainder of the block has undergone considerable change in the last 20 years which has impacted on the overall integrity of the heritage streetscape. The scale of the block is predominantly two and three storeys, with the notable exception of the current and future hotel complex and Booth House. The street edge line is fragmented in this block with many gaps and breaks and the heritage character of the street is undermined with many poorly-considered modern buildings. There are, however, some individual buildings that have high heritage value and remain a strong presence in the streetscape.

The building makes a positive contribution to the Cuba Street Heritage Area.

The timber façade of 221- 225 Cuba Street is sited in the Cuba Street Heritage Area and makes a positive contribution to the significant collection of heritage buildings that form the Cuba Street Heritage Area. The scale, materials and style of this building contribute to the townscape of Cuba Street.

• Architectural

  Does the item have architectural or artistic value for characteristics that may include its design, style, era, form, scale, materials, colour, texture, patina of age, quality of space, craftsmanship, smells, and sounds?

  221- 225 Cuba Street is the remnant façade of an 1896 row of three two-storey shop/dwellings and is a good representative example of Victorian Classical architecture. The timber façade is graceful and well-proportioned and the reproduction shop-fronts and tiled shop entrances are pleasant modern interventions.

• Group

  Is the item part of a group of buildings, structures, or sites that taken together have coherence because of their age, history, style, scale, materials, or use?

  The façade has some group value as one of four heritage buildings that form part of the large, c.2004, two-hotel ‘CQ’ development.

• Townscape

  Does the item have townscape value for the part it plays in defining a space or street; providing visual interest; its role as a landmark; or the contribution it makes to the character and sense of place of Wellington?

  The scale, materials and style of this façade contribute to the townscape of Cuba Street and it has townscape value for the role that it plays in the streetscape and as a part of the Cuba Street Heritage Area.

• Association

  Is the item associated with an important historic event, theme, pattern, phase, or activity?

  The building has historic value for its association with the strong growth and development of Cuba Street during the Edwardian period, which resulted in the building of many fine commercial buildings.

• Archaeological

  Does the item have archaeological value for its ability to provide scientific information about past human activity?

  Pre- 1900 building (most demolished in c.2004 for modern development) Central City NZAA R27/270

• Identity Sense Of Place Continuity

  Is the item a focus of community, regional, or national identity? Does the item contribute to sense of place or continuity?

  This building is part of a group of Edwardian commercial buildings on Cuba Street which contribute to the sense of place and continuity of the Cuba Street Heritage Area.

• Authentic

  Does the item have authenticity or integrity because it retains significant fabric from the time of its construction or from later periods when important additions or modifications were carried out?

  The majority of this building was demolished in 2004 and only the façade has been retained. It has some authenticity as a representative of a simple commercial Edwardian timber building.

• Local Regional National International

• Representative

  Is the item a good example of the class it represents?

  The building is representative of the architecture and history found on Cuba Street. It has a distinctive character and adds to the variety of Cuba Street as a contrast to the more elaborate and ornate buildings.

Not assessed

• Historic Places Trust. “Commercial Building – 221-225 Cuba Street”, unpublished classification review report, 2012.
• Upper Hutt Leader, Volume IX, Number 29, 24 July 1952, accessed 26 July 2013,
• Wellington City Council. Wellington Heritage Building Inventory 2001: Non-Residential Buildings. Wellington City Council, 2001.
• 00078:2650:171320
• 00078:2686:177823
• 00078:2697:180461

• Inventory report

Not available