Harper’s Corner (Former)

• 1929
• Building constructed by Fletcher Construction Co. (00056:54:B5277)
• 1936
• A three storey addition at a cost of £4,400 by Palmer and Askew. (00056:167:B14817)
• 1937
• Sign erected. (00056:198:B17273)
• 1948
• Fire escapes built by A. Lemmon. (00056:356:B27352)
• 1953
• Building altered. (00056:461:B35021)
• 1964
• Shop front altered. (00058:366:C15670)
• 1967
• Building altered. . (00058:510:C22020)
• 1983
• Retail space altered by builders MacRitchie Bros Ltd. . (00058:0:C62642)
• 1991
• Restaurant addition and alteration. (00059:464:E22586)
• 1993
• Plumbing altered. (00060:50:1928) Takeaway food outlet altered. (00060:48:1856)
• 1995
• Restaurant altered. (00060:48:1856)
• 2009
• Restaurant fitout and bar plumbing altered. . (00078:2770:181271)

• 1929
• There were an assortment of businesses that occupied the building. They included:
• unknown
• No.15: Peter Christopher, fish shop; No.16: Waratah Confectionery; No.17: Boulevard Chemists; No.18: Duncan Ltd., hairdressers & tobacconists Duncan Ltd., hairdressers & tobacconists (Stones, 1930).
• unknown
• First reference to 'Harpers Buildings' at No.12: The Cambridge Oyster Bar; The Marcelle Salon; The Wellington Millinery Co. Ltd.; Anna Jones, dressmaker; Central Tailoring Co.; Roland Powell, dentist The Cambridge Oyster Bar; The Marcelle Salon; The Wellington Millinery Co. Ltd.; Anna Jones, dressmaker; Central Tailoring Co.; Roland Powell, dentist (Stones, 1940).
• unknown
• Reference to 'Hyams Buildings' at No.15-16: The Marcelle Salon; Elite Lingerie Manufacturers; Central Tailoring Co.; Bacon & Dentice, dentists The Marcelle Salon; Elite Lingerie Manufacturers; Central Tailoring Co.; Bacon & Dentice, dentists (Stones, 1945; Wises, 1950-51).
• unknown
• 'Harpers Buildings' at No.15-16: Little's Electrical Service; Elite Lingerie; International Fur Co.; B Dunning, beauty salon; Central Tailoring Co.; Bacon & Dentice, dental laboratory; No.15-16: Dyes & Chemicals Ltd., agents for British Nylon Spinners Dyes & Chemicals Ltd., agents for British Nylon Spinners (Wises, 1955).
• unknown
• Similar businesses up to 1990. Bacon & Dentice long term tenants, 1945-1990.
• 1993
• Bank of New Zealand.

Not assessed

The Harper Building building at the corner of Courtenay Place and Cambridge Terrace was built in two stages. The earliest part of the development is the two storey art deco building at 16-20 Cambridge Terrace, with the words “Harper’s Corner, 1928” set into the parapet. The three storey addition at 1 Courtenay Place / 15 Cambridge Terrace was built in 1936.

The two storey 1929 building is in a restrained Art Deco style with a low shallow pitched pediment with the date 1928 set in the parapet. There is a prominent cornice with large dentils with the words “Harper’s Corner” set above the central windows. The first floor windows are grouped over the three shop-fronts and the original fenestration appears to have survived (2012). The wall on the Cambridge Terrace façade is shown on the original drawings as “Buff tinted plaster work lined as shown to represent stone.” And the ashlar effect survives even though the building has been painted dark green with red details. The ground floor shop fronts have been much altered over the past eighty years, and the modern alterations are cluttered and messy though some vestigial remnants of the originals remain. The first floor Cambridge Terrace façade is in near original condition although there is a recent metal fire escape that leads from the 1938 three storey addition.

The 1936 three storey addition is a relatively plain concrete structure adorned only with a small amount of decoration that is confined to Art Deco motifs around the cornice and above the rectangular window openings. The original fenestration to the first and second floor windows appears to have survived (2012). The original drawings show that the 1938 addition was intended to be a two storey building, but the third floor was probably added when the extension was constructed. The additional storey gives the Cambridge Terrace façade of the Harper Building a strange, unbalanced, appearance and the simple, unadorned 1938 addition has less visual appeal than the original.

1928 Building: Concrete structure including walls, cement render, concrete slabs to ground floor and first floor, timber roof structure, pitched corrugated iron or mild steel roof set behind the parapet.

1938 Building: Concrete structure with masonry (brick) infill to walls and brick parapet, cement render, concrete floors and (flat) roof slab.

This building is set in the south side of Courtenay Place, on a corner site of Cambridge Terrace and Courtenay Place. It is part of a row on Courtenay Place which is characterised by its continuous line of buildings between Cambridge Terrace and Tory Street which emphasise the original survey line. The buildings are diverse in nature and age but, despite some particularly intrusive modern buildings, have a high streetscape quality which contributes significantly to the heritage value and character of Courtenay Place as a whole.

Harper’s Building is adjoined on Courtenay Place by a long low modern two-storey commercial building of no particular interest and the former McDonald’s building constructed in 1911, which is distinctive for its two-storey high gabled façade in exposed brick, rare in Wellington, and for its lack of ornament in a period where embellishment was requisite. It has an ungraceful apartment addition which, although within the height of the original roof, detracts from the streetscape value of the upper part of the building.

There is a brick paved landscaped area immediately in front of the Harper Building with a notable statue by Weta Workshop which links to the Embassy Theatre across Cambridge and Kent Terraces.

• 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 original two storey 1929 Harper’s Corner building is a carefully proportioned building in a restrained Art Deco style. The three storey 1939 addition has less aesthetic appeal than the original, but makes a good transition in form and style between Cambridge Terrace and Courtenay Place. A new paint/colour scheme could make more of the building’s decorative features.

• 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 is part of an important group of heritage buildings which together form the Courtenay Place Heritage Area. Although most of the buildings were constructed in the first half of the 20th century, there are significant differences in age and style among some of the buildings in this group.

• 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 building occupies a prominent corner at the Cambridge Terrace and Courtenay Place intersection and makes a good transition between Cambridge Terrace and Courtenay Place.

• Association

  Is the item associated with an important person, group, or organisation?

  The 1936 addition was designed by prominent Wellington architects John Sydney Swan and William Lavelle.

• Association

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

  The building has some historic value for its use as a retail / office premises and as medical consulting rooms and is part of the historic commercial development of Courtenay Place.

• 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

• 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?

  The Harper building has been part of streetscape of Cambridge Terrace and Courtenay Place for over eighty years and contributes to the sense of place and continuity for the Courtenay Place 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 building façade has had few intrusive modern alterations and additions above verandah level and retains most of the original building fabric.

• 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 building occupies a prominent corner at the Cambridge Terrace and Courtenay Place intersection and makes a good transition between Cambridge Terrace and Courtenay Place.

Not assessed

• CT WN339/141 Land Information New Zealand
• Wellington City Council, Courtenay Place Heritage Area Report. Welllington City Council: Unpublished report, prepared for Plan Change 48, 2006.
• Wellington City Council, Courtenay Place Heritage Area spreadsheet. Wellington City Council: Unpublished report, prepared for Plan Change 48, 2006.
• Wellington City Council, Wellington Heritage Building Inventory 1995. Wellington City Council, 1995.
• “15-19 Cambridge Terrace, shops and offices”, 1923, (00056:54:B5277), Wellington City Archives.
• “1-3 Courtenay Place [15 Cambridge Terrace] building”, 1936,( 00056:167:B14817) Wellington City Archives.
• “1 Courtenay Place - erect sign”, 1937, (00056:198:B17273) Wellington City Archives.
• “1-3 Courtenay Place - fire escapes”, 1948, (00056:356:B27352) Wellington City Archives.
• “16 Cambridge Terrace - building alterations”, 1953, (00056:461:B35021), Wellington City Archives.
• “15-19 Cambridge Terrace - building alterations - shop front”, 1964, (00058:366:C15670), Wellington City Archives.
• “1 Courtenay Place - building alterations”, 1967, (00058:510:C22020), Wellington City Archives.
• “1-3 Courtenay Place - alter retail premises”, 1983, (00058:0:C62642), Wellington City Archives.
• “15 Cambridge Terrace - restaurant additions and alterations”, 1991, (00059:464:E22586), Wellington City Archives.
• “15 Cambridge Terrace - plumbing alteration”, 1993, (00060:50:1928), Wellington City Archives.
• “15, 19 Cambridge Terrace - alterations to takeaway food outlet Takeaway food outlet altered”, 1993, (00060:48:1856), Wellington City Archives.
• “15 Cambridge Terrace, restaurant [18 Cambridge Terrace]”, 1995, (00060:48:1856), Wellington City Archives.
• “15 Cambridge Terrace - restaurant alteration”, 1995, (00061:141:14562), Wellington City Archives.
• “15 Cambridge Terrace, 1-3 Courtenay Place - restaurant fitout, bar plumbing alterations”, 2009, (00078:2770:181271), Wellington City Archives.
• “Miscellaneous”, Evening Post, Volume CIX, Issue 90, 16 April 1930.
• “Site of New Buildings On Cambridge Terrace”, Evening Post, Volume CVIII, Issue 129, 27 November 1929

• Inventory Report
• 1928 drawings
• 1936 drawings

Not available