Formerly a slum area, the district surrounding Allen and Blair Streets was redeveloped from 1898-1904 after the land came under the control of the Harbour Board. With preparations to install the new electric tram network in hand and the Te Aro railway station located nearby, the Harbour Board decided to turn the area into a market. The area’s fortunes soon rose with the construction of warehouses along the lengths of Allen and Blair Streets.[1] Between 1904 and 1906 a variety of warehouse buildings were constructed along both sides of Allen and Blair Streets. These warehouses were used for storage and auctions. They were two or three-stories high with a variety of street facades, some more ornate than others. In many of the stores markets and auctions were held on the ground floor with offices on the floors above.[2] Allen and Blair Streets bustled with vendors, merchants and numerous vehicles loading and unloading produce and other marketable goods.
The site of this building was originally owned by the Wellington Harbour Board, which had transferred the property to Percy Edward Palmer, a farmer from Levin in 1903. Palmer owned the site until 1920, and it appears that he had constructed a building on the site already when he sold to Allen Street Buildings Ltd as the plans feature an existing basement. Based on the Stones and Wises Wellington directories, it appears that the building was primarily associated with fruit and produce merchants, which is a typical use for this area, and the primary tenant was Pope A & Co. Ltd., who occupied the building between 1940 and 1972 (Stones 1940 - 1945; Wises 1971-2).
The building at 25-29 Allen Street was constructed to the 1936 design of architect Bernard W. Johns by builders Christian and Neilson for an estimated cost of £3,200 for Allen Street Buildings Ltd. This is one of the last of the warehouses that were constructed in the Blair and Allen Street precinct.
The building was constructed as a warehouse, with a cart dock with roller shutter doors taking up most of the street frontage. The front section of the building was two storeys and had offices on the first floor. The façade has a row of three windows with a plain horizontal hood over them and a stepped parapet above. The original drawings also show a tiled façade with Art Deco motifs present in the ventilation grills and over the office door. The building was constructed in reinforced concrete with steel trusses spanning the width of the building.
Since the 1980s, as Courtenay Place has increasingly developed into the entertainment district, this building has primarily been used to house restaurants and bars. It currently is the home of ‘The Apartment’ bar.
