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. A large sign on the front of the small building near the centre of the picture encourages prospective purchasers/developers to build a high rise building that will dwarf those on either side of it.
Auckland Electric Power Board
Architecture, Colour
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Jan 292010
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.
Fosters Ships Chandlery
Architecture, Black and White
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Jan 262010
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.
Jan 252010
An early morning jogger pauses to look at a luxury cruise ship docked in the cities international port of call.
Jan 252010
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 couple of buskers on Saturday night. I think she was singing an Aretha Franklin number and well! She certainly wasn’t shy about dancing about and enjoying the performance.
Inside one of the newest buildings at Auckland University, the Owen Glenn Building. It was completed in 2008 as the new home for it’s business school and named after the very generous expatriate New Zealand entrepreneur, Owen G. Glenn.
One of the international guest speakers at a free one-day public astronomy symposium hosted by the University of Aucklands’ Faculty of Science. Dr Jack Lissauer, from NASA Ames Research Center (US), spoke about the search for habitable extrasolar planets and what they’ve found so far. Note his very cool Kepler cap!
Jan 212010
A young man sits on the side of the road at the far end of Mills Lane, during the early hours of the morning. This narrow street is lies parallel between Albert Street and Queen Street, connected to the latter just before this spot by a narrow winding staircase.
Jan 202010
A Synagogue built in 1885, which it remained until 1967 when the congregation moved to the current one on Greys Avenue. The building is now a branch of the National Bank. It resides in the University district on the corner of Princes Street and Bowen Avenue.