A group of late night bar patrons approaches the back of The St James Theatre. Once one of the most sumptuously decorated cinemas in Auckland, along with nearby Civic Theatre, The St James is now nearly derelict. A monument to a bygone era, its seating and projection booths are gathering dust.

The backs of older inner city buildings on Emily Place back onto a rare outdoor carpark at the bottom of Anzac Avenue. The empty lot stands between a block that contains a Japanese Restaurant, Apartments and a Thai Boxing Gym, and another block that for years was home to curio and adult shops. Refurbishing of the area has not affected its ability to attract more small businesses, despite the loss of several iconic stores such as Drummonds Antiques that was opposite for many years until recently.

A couple of people relax on a piece of grass that lies between older buildings to the left, and new construction to the right, near Tyler Street. This whole area, that once contained a character-filled art deco bus terminal and surrounding curio shops, is being brutally torn to pieces in an attempt to “modernise” the city. Nearby, a 26 level tower has just been proposed by developers behind the historic Rose and Crown Tavern, while here, construction continues on what is guaranteed to be yet another uninspired monstrosity.

Auckland City and the surrounding suburbs have several buildings belonging to The Auckland Electric Power Board that are Art Deco in Design. They can be found in various places throughout central Auckland. This particular one sits on the Eastern side of the beginning of Tamaki Drive, and was built, as the sign states, just after the Second World War.

A sign advertises a shop for lease at the top of Wyndham Street, seen from Albert Street. Decades ago, it would have been unheard of for there to be a residential dwelling in this area, but the back windows of apartments can clearly be seen. The 2000’s was a decade during which empty office spaces, still unoccupied after the 1987 Stock Market Crash, were converted into such dwellings. Now, ironically, it is a recent mortgage-led financial crash that now sees both commercial and residential spaces left empty.

Evening is about to fall over what is now the Chancery Plaza, facing High Street and O’Connell Street. The rooftops in the foreground cover the high fashion shopping district that now exists in what used to be a large, low level carpark for the old High Court. Modern high rises, such as the new building that houses Deloittes, can be seen in the distance.

A sunset casts an early evening shadow over the front of Fosters Ships Chandlery. Fosters has been in this building since the early 1900’s, when Alex Foster began the business. Before that, it occupied a small office on Fanshawe Street, facing the waterfront, until land reclamation allowed buildings to be built further towards what we now know as the Downtown Shopping Centre and Viaduct.

An early morning jogger pauses to look at a luxury cruise ship docked in the cities international port of call.

The surrounding buildings are dwarfed by The Metropolis, with The Sky Tower receding into the background. Conceived and commissioned by one of Auckland’s most prolific developers, Andrew Krukziener, and built on the site of the old Courthouse, Metropolis was part of his dream to create iconic landmarks in the city that would be more than just the allegedly functional housing towers that are now a blight on the cityscape.

Inspired by early 20th Century American design, amongst other things, Krukziener oversaw every minute detail of the tower that, while perhaps fulfilling his artistic ideals, would become looked upon as something of an economic disaster.

Despite its uneven past, and reports of some less than genteel tenants, the building is a testament to his stubborn determination to add something of value to the skyline.

A building opposite the Hobson Street Carparks. The area surrounding the Farmers Heritage Building, while dominated by the Heritage renovation itself, is one of the better examples of sympathetic development in the city. Domestic buildings such as the Madison on The Square sit harmoniously in the same vicinity as St. Patrick’s Cathedral.