Townsend and Paul Warehouse (Former)

• 1905
• Original Construction
• 1929
• Additions and alterations – addition to building (000056:79:B7543)
• 1944
• Reinstate earthquake damage B23708
• 1952
• Additions and alterations B133187
• 1957
• Additions and alterations C672
• 1966
• Additions and alterations C19833
• 1968
• Additions and alterations – level 1 C26572
• 1974
• Additions and alterations – entrance C41959
• 1989
• Office building additions and alterations D13115
• 1994
• Additions and alterations – first floor fit out D13115
• 1996
• Receives funding from WCC Earthquake Risk Building Fund for seismic strengthening
• 2002
• Convert building to apartments 57408

• 1924
• Lease the Board to Fredrick Townsend & James Paul in equal shares, Lots 4 & 5, 11/11/1924 (CTWN318/110).
• 1927
• Transmission of interests in Lots 4 & 5 to Mary Ann Townsend, Ernest Alfred Little & Fredrick Harold Bartley Townsend, 24/6/1927 (CTWN318/110).
• 1939
• Lease the Board to Herbert Frood & Ernest Alfred Little (jointly) & James Paul, tenants in common, Lots 4 & 5, term 14 years, 6/4/1939 (CTWN318/110).
• 1955
• Lease the Board to Herbert Frood & Ernest Alfred Little (jointly) & Stanley Paul & George Samuel Thorpe Harden (tenants in common), Lots 4 & 5, term 14 years, 15/5/1955 (CTWN318/110).
• 1967
• New certificate of title issued to the Wellington Harbour Board, Lots 4 & 5, 16/10/1967 (CTWN5B/420; CTWN5B/421).
• 1967
• Lease the Board to T. P. Properties Ltd., Lot 4, term 28/11/1967 (CTWN5B/420).
• 1972
• Transfer of lease to Albert Dondertman & Cornelia Josepha Dondertman, Lot 4, 8/9/1972.
• 1981
• Lease to Ecosse Enterprises Ltd., Lot 4, term 14 years, 17/11/1981.
• 1990
• Transmission to the Wellington Regional Council, 26/1/1990.
• 1995
• Transfer to Donald John MacRitchie, Company Director, David James Underwood, Chartered Accountant (1/2 shares, Lot 4, 7/12/1995 (CTWN5B/420).
• 2000
• New certificate of title issued to Donald John MacRitchie, Company Director, David James Underwood, Chartered Accountant (1/2 shares, Lot 1 DP 88314, 29/2/2000 (CTWN55D/292).
• unknown
• New certificates of titles issued for Unit Titles New certificates of titles issued for Unit Titles (CTWN55D/292)

Not assessed

This building has been designed in a Edwardian Classical warehouse style, with a rectangle façade, strongly emphasised piers, and repeating arches. The arched windows are a departure from the dominant rectangular openings of the remainder of the street. The façade is plain with minimal surface treatment. The façade of this building is characterised by a row of seven round headed windows on the first floor, with the shape repeated in two openings on the ground floor. Over the large opening at the northern end is a frieze of rosebuds, a feature that is more commonly associated with the Art Deco period of the 1930s. The decorative parapet was removed following the 1942 earthquake, and has left a plain horizontal band. The brickwork is visible on the façade.

The building was constructed as a two storey masonry design and is unique in this street for its asymmetric composition. The building appears in two parts, with the small part on the (to the north) reading as an infill section between the original warehouse and its northern neighbour. The composition of the façade is best understood from the first floor where the main part of the building is composed in three central bays, a bay containing a single arched window each. The bays are given prominence by the wall sections between them being recessed. On the ground floor, the first bay on the left hand side has a narrow entry way set next to a broad segmental arch, the central bay has a section of wall with two round headed windows and two loading docks and the right hand bay has the most peculiar feature of the building, a round arch which is only partially rusticated.

Brick structure, cement render, stone and timber detailing.

This warehouse building is adjoined on the northern side by a 1906 building that was constructed for the New Zealand Fruit and Produce Co. Ltd., by Thomas Turnbull and Son and designed in an Edwardian Italianate style. To the south it is adjoined by 26-32 Allen Street, a 1923 warehouse in the Interwar Free Classical style.

Allen Street is made up of a number of former warehouse buildings associated with the fruit and produce markets. The Blair and Allen Street precinct is remarkable for its homogeneity. They provide the most consistent and uniform streetscape views of any part of the commercial business district of Wellington. They are mostly designed in the functional tradition, and were constructed for utilitarian purposes of produce markets and warehouses.

• 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?

  The former Townsend and Paul warehouse is a good representative example of an Edwardian Classical light-industrial building. It has architectural value for its well articulated facades, despite the loss of the original decorative parapet.

• 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 building contributes to the Courtenay Place Heritage Area, which is made up of a group of late 19th – early 20th century commercial buildings, and features the distinctive Blair and Allen Street warehouse precinct.

• 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?

  This building has an important townscape role as an element of the Blair/Allen Street precinct of 19th and early 20th century masonry warehouses.

• Association

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

  This building is associated with the historic redevelopment of the former slum area surrounding Allen and Grainger streets following them being placed under control of the Harbour Board. It is also associated with the fruit and produce markets.

• Archaeological

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

  This building is included in the NZAA Central City archaeological area R27/270.

• IdentitySenseOfPlaceContinuity

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

  The building is part of a collection of historic buildings which contribute to the sense of place in the Courtenay Place Heritage Area. More specifically, the collection of buildings that form the Blair and Allen Street precinct is a coherent streetscape that is well understood and appreciated by the local community.

• 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 building at 18-24 Allen Street retains a significant amount of original fabric, particularly to the exterior which has had few significant alterations (with the notable exception of the decorative parapet).

• Representative

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

  This building is a good representative example of an Edwardian warehouse that is typical of the Allen/Blair Street warehouse area.

• Importance

  Is the item important for any of the above characteristics at a local, regional, national, or international level?

  The building is of local importance as its architecture and history contributes to the overall historic and aesthetic value of the Allen and Blair Street Precinct.

Not assessed

• Dictionary or Scottish Architects
• Kelly, Michael, and Russell Murray. Courtenay Place Heritage Area Report. Welllington City Council: Unpublished report, prepared for Plan Change 48, 2006.
• Wellington City Council. Wellington Heritage Building Inventory 2001: Non-Residential Buildings. Wellington City Council, 2001.
• Wellington City Archive
• LINZ
• 00058:955: C41959
• 00058:557:C26572
• 0059: 281: D13115
• 00078: 1696: 57408
• 00059: 281: D13115
• 00056: 299: B23708
• 00056: 79: B7543
• 00056: 299: B23708: 001
• 00058: 461: C19833
• 00058: 14: C672
• 00056: 435: B133187
• CTWN5B/421
• CTWN318/110
• CTWN55D/292
• CTWN5B/420

• Inventory Report

Not available