Built Heritage Inventory

Transcription

1 National Bank of NZ Register Item Number: 58 Building Type: Residential Commercial Industrial Recreation Institutional Agriculture Other Significance: Archaeological Architectural Historic Scientific Technological Cultural Thematic Context Early Settlement Location: 98 Victoria Avenue, Heritage NZ Pouhere Taonga Whanganui List Number: 988 Physical Description: the three storeyed, masonry bank building has a rectangular plan with a symmetrical façade facing Victoria Avenue. The street elevation is divided into three bays separated by full height pilasters with the main entry located in a slightly recessed central bay flanked by pairs of fluted Residential Industry Agricultural Commerce Transport Civic/Admin Health Education Religion Recreation Community Memorials Military

2 columns, also full height. Walls are painted rendered plaster with incised lines to imitate ashlar stonework. The side bays a six light window with steel frame on each floor, and this simple design is repeated on the side elevation facing west. A deep entablature crowns the building with ornate dentilled cornice and plain parapet. The building is slightly raised above the street on a tall base with stepped and ramped access. The building contains a basement with strongroom and boiler room/storage area. The ground floor contains the 62 x 40 banking chamber which rises through two storeys. The banking chamber has its original features, including decorated moulded ceilings, Doric columns and leadlights covering the light well above the tellers desks. The Manager s office and other facilities are also on the ground floor, while a mezzanine floor across the front and rear of the building originally provided staff accommodation. The third floor has offices, originally 16 in number, and is accessed by a separate door off Victoria Avenue. The interior staircase has wrought iron balustrades with wooden hand rails. Recent alterations have provided a disabled access ramp and entrance awning. The wrought iron balustrades and bronze handrails of the ramp and steps complement the original style of the building. A feature of the building is the central heating, fired by an oil burner in the basement. The heating was originally supplied free to the tenants of the second-floor offices. Other known names: ANZ Bank Current Use: Vacant (2016) Former Uses: Heritage Status: Heritage NZPT List District Plan Class: Class B (Cat. 2) Architectural Style: Inter-War neo- Date of Construction: 1929/30 Classical Materials: Painted cement render, steel joinery Registered owner: Legal Description: Pt Sec 163 Twn of Wanganui

3 History: Of the site: C.H. Chavannes Victoria Hotel was in operation on the site by 1883; this hotel was later known as Chavannes after its licensee and by 1927 the licensee was George Spriggens, a well-known boot maker in town. Spriggens built a new hotel on the corner of Guyton and St Hill Streets in 1927 (later known as The Grand) and the old Chavannes Hotel was demolished by Of the National Bank in Wanganui: The bank was established in New Zealand in 1873, the same year that it opened a branch in Wanganui. The first premises were in lower Victoria Avenue () until 1881 when the bank moved to another building down the street (B6.9). In 1902 new premises were built in Ridgway Street (B16.20) where the bank was located from 1902 to Of the architect: The architect of the 1902 National Bank building in Wanganui was Alfred Atkins; the firm he established with Cyril Mitchell (Atkins & Mitchell) would also design the next building for the bank its current premises at 98 Victoria Avenue. Cyril Hawthorn Mitchell ( ) joined Alfred Atkins as a draughtsman in 1908 and became a partner with Atkins and Roger Bacon in However, when Bacon left the partnership and Atkins died in 1919, Mitchell was left to run the business on his own, but retained the name Atkins & Mitchell until Cyril Mitchell was responsible for many buildings in Wellington, including the Waterloo Hotel, the Central Fire Station and the United Building on Customhouse Quay. He was also architect to the Reserve Bank of New Zealand and studied the construction of banking chambers in Europe. His Wellington offices were in the National Bank Chambers. Of the building: Cyril Mitchell drew up the plans for the building in His 96-page Specifications dated October 1928 detail every aspect of the construction, decoration and fitting-out of the bank building. The plans encompassed 25 drawings (copies with Dickson Lonergan in Wanganui) and the amounts allowed for sub-contractors included 1,750 for bank fittings, 4,000 for plastering and 1,250 for heating. The specifications are a delight to read. The Schedule of Doors noted which should be oak, totara or rimu and the number of panels in

4 each; there was a Schedule of Glazing, a Schedule of Light Fittings and a Schedule of Bank Fittings noting the requirements for desks, tellers, boxes, etc. Mitchell even noted the requirement for wooden seats in the lavatories. In 1983, a letter from structural engineers, Bruce-Smith Chapman & Amos, noted that the only amendment from the specifications for the building was the relocation of the book-lift which took place during construction. Mitchell s buildings were known to have been built faithfully to his drawings and specifications; the National Bank in Wanganui is no exception. The building permit issued in Dec 1928 to Fletcher Construction gives the cost of the building as 25,898, requiring 40,000 bricks and 1,237 cubic yards of concrete. Wanganui firms involved in the building were: Hughes, Allomes (painting and decorating); RJ Bell (plumbing) and DA Morrison & Co (electrical fittings). The central heating system was installed by Jenkins & Mack of Wellington. The erection of such a fine building in the depth of the Depression was significant in Wanganui. When it was completed in February 1930, the Wanganui Chronicle noted that the building sent out a message of confidence in the wealth of the city and the potentialities of its hinterland. The opening ceremony on 28 February involved the Mayor, Councillors, MP and other dignitaries, plus three of the Bank s oldest customers including Mr Hope Gibbons. The official party inspected the building from top to bottom in the company of the Manager, Mr EPV Sealy, who commented that this building is my bank s belief in the solidity of Wanganui and confidence in the future. Mr A Rankin, Chairman of the Chamber of Commerce, toasted the contractors and said that the building was a monument to the architect in the first place, but without contractors of ability and despatch, such a fine result would not have materialised. Architect/Designer: Cyril H Mitchell (Atkins & Mitchell) of Wellington, 1928 History of changes: 1949 car and cycle shelter erected at the rear (still in position), 1983 removal of brick partitions on the Mezzanine floor and top floor (to comply with seismic requirements) internal alterations to toilet facilities cashflow machine installed on Maria Place façade (now been relocated

5 on the other side of Majestic Square) plumbing work and internal alterations to ground floor and mezzanine layout Disabled access ramp added to Victoria Street side first floor office alterations (Andrews Scott Cotton) and electrical and telephone cable installations minor alterations to the layout of the banking chamber. Date Period: 1930s Rarity / Special Features: Integrity: Substantially intact, with sympathetic exterior access alterations. Representativeness: Context/Group Value: Located in a critical corner position on the Victoria Avenue/Maria Place axis, the National Bank forms part of the historic view up to Queens Park and the Sarjeant Gallery. Diversity (Form and Features): Fragility / Vulnerability:. Summary of Significance: Architectural Qualities The National Bank is the most grandiose building in the central city and is the last classical building to be erected in Wanganui. The architect, Cyril Mitchell, planned it as the prototype for other National Bank buildings elsewhere in New Zealand, eg Timaru. The links between Cyril Mitchell and one of Wanganui s foremost architects, Alfred Atkins, are recalled in the official name of the architectural practice at the time: Atkins and Mitchell. The interior of the Banking Chamber is largely original, with classical, moulded ceilings and delightful leadlights above the tellers desks. Modern banking requirements have been accommodated within the space without compromising the architectural details.

6 Historic Qualities This is the only registered bank building in Wanganui that is still operating as a bank. It was constructed during the Depression and provided a welcome morale booster for Wanganui at the time, signifying the Bank s confidence in the future prosperity of Wanganui and its farming hinterland. Cultural Qualities The National Bank is considered to be one of Wanganui s architectural icons, featuring along with the Sarjeant Gallery and the Watt Fountain in publicity and television advertisements for the city. The community values the building, both as a bank and as a monument to Wanganui s prosperity in the past and as a talisman for future growth. The public outcry over the installation of the cash machine confirmed the community value of this building. Reference Sources: W. Pettigrew Wanganui District Heritage Inventory B Wanganui District Council Building File Wanganui Chronicle 1/03/1930. National Bank Archives. Wanganui Herald 30/07/1973. Wanganui Chronicle 17-19/12/1992. Wanganui Chronicle 10/02/1993 Wanganui Chronicle 16/02/1993 Wellington City Council Heritage Inventory. Wanganui Borough 1908 Insurance Assessment Map. H.I. Jones Wanganui Almanack 1883.

7 Associated Pictures: The National Bank on the corner of Victoria Avenue and Maria Place The Maria Place façade, before the completion of Majestic Square Interior of the Banking Chamber Date of Survey: 2012 Prepared by: Ian Bowman and Wendy Pettigrew