Hamilton Central
Encyclopedia
Hamilton Central is the central business district
of Hamilton, New Zealand
. It is located on the western banks of the Waikato River
.
to beyond the Fairfield Bridge
, but the commercial section ends before Whitiora Bridge. 33 of the cities 105 heritage sites are located on the street. Lonely Planet
guide states that Hamilton's "main street has sprouted a sophisticated and vibrant stretch of bars and eateries that on the weekend at least leave Auckland's Viaduct Harbour for dead in the boozy fun stakes."
The area was initially used as a car park, which was very popular with retailers and shoppers. In 1967, the car park was closed and Garden Place was laid out with grass and trees. A ring road encircled the beautified area, but it was removed in August 1974. The name Garden Place actually refers to the former road, not the grass park area.
.
/Polytechnics. Its City Centre campus is located between Anglesea Street and Tristram Street near Civic Square and the Hamilton City Council municipal building.
was established in 1987 and is one of Hamilton’s largest and more unusual buildings. It was designed by Ivan Mercep, who later designed New Zealand’s national museum, Te Papa
. The museum has five levels and 12 galleries, 25,000 social history objects relating to Hamilton's local history. Te Winika Gallery features Te Whare Waka o Te Winika, a 200-year-old carved waka taua
.
. The former soft-drink bottling plant and roller-skating rink was converted into a theatre. It also provides facilities on the 1st Floor, suitable for start-up businesses in the creative sector. This Creative Industries Hub known as Soda Inc is an initiative in the cultural development area undertaken by Hamilton City Council in conjunction with Wintec
.
exterior. The building was originally developed over many years by Hamilton Operatic Society and the original building was known as the Drury Lane Theatre. The current theatre was completed in 1987 by the Society and was acquired by HCC in 1997. The venue has hosted countless drama, comedy and smaller concert events.
church, St Peter's Cathedral was constructed with ferro-concrete by Warren and Blechynden of Hamilton. The present St Peter's was completed in 1916 . It is the fourth Anglican church on the site and it serves as the cathedral church for the Bishop and Diocese of Waikato
.
style. The building was extended by half in 1916 to meet the demand for more facilities, and remained the central post office until 1940 when its replacement opposite Garden Place opened. For the next 40 years, the building was used for Social Welfare purposes. Various other tenants include the Maori Land Court, local Members of Parliament and a Youth Resource Centre. Hamilton City Council purchased the building in 1992 and restored the building as much as possible to original condition. The renovated building was opened as ArtsPost on 27 June 1998.
The Bank of New Zealand left the building in 1986 and it was vacant until it was refurbished in 1994 as The Bank Bar and Brasserie. Its restoration signaled the beginning of a multi-million dollar redevelopment at the south end of Victoria St.
style by Frederick Daniell. Wesley Chambers feature Sullivanesque
-style windows with central panes flanked by narrower panes, and the unusual wrought iron balconies on two sides of the building.
For most of its history, Wesley Chambers' upper floors were tenanted by some of the city's most prominent professional people including opticians, solicitors, accountants and dentists. In the 1980s and early 1990s, the building was vacant and but in 1993, it was transformed into a boutique hotel, the Le Grand.
, who lived in Hamilton. Weta Workshop
was commissioned to create a statue of Riff Raff - one of the show's iconic characters played by O'Brien. The statue was unveiled on Victoria Street on on 26 November 2004.
artist Neil Dawson
.
, made out of Hinuera
Stone.
Central business district
A central business district is the commercial and often geographic heart of a city. In North America this part of a city is commonly referred to as "downtown" or "city center"...
of Hamilton, New Zealand
Hamilton, New Zealand
Hamilton is the centre of New Zealand's fourth largest urban area, and Hamilton City is the country's fourth largest territorial authority. Hamilton is in the Waikato Region of the North Island, approximately south of Auckland...
. It is located on the western banks of the Waikato River
Waikato River
The Waikato River is the longest river in New Zealand. In the North Island, it runs for 425 kilometres from the eastern slopes of Mount Ruapehu, joining the Tongariro River system and emptying into Lake Taupo, New Zealand's largest lake. It drains Taupo at the lake's northeastern edge, creates the...
.
Features of Hamilton Central
Victoria Street
Victoria Street, named after Queen Victoria, is the main street of Hamilton running adjacent to the Waikato River. It stretches from Victoria BridgeVictoria Bridge, Hamilton
Victoria Bridge is a steel arch bridge in Hamilton, New Zealand. The bridge connects the suburbs of Hamilton Central and Hamilton East....
to beyond the Fairfield Bridge
Fairfield Bridge
Fairfield Bridge is a tied-arch bridge on the Waikato River in Fairfield, Hamilton, New Zealand. It is one of six bridges in the city. It spans from River Road, on the east bank of the river, to Victoria Street, on the west side....
, but the commercial section ends before Whitiora Bridge. 33 of the cities 105 heritage sites are located on the street. Lonely Planet
Lonely Planet
Lonely Planet is the largest travel guide book and digital media publisher in the world. The company is owned by BBC Worldwide, which bought a 75% share from the founders Maureen and Tony Wheeler in 2007 and the final 25% in February 2011...
guide states that Hamilton's "main street has sprouted a sophisticated and vibrant stretch of bars and eateries that on the weekend at least leave Auckland's Viaduct Harbour for dead in the boozy fun stakes."
Garden Place
Further along Victoria Street is the pedestrian mall Garden Place. It was carved, after much debate, out of a hill in the late 1930s. The cutting was made through the ridge to allow the formation of Angelsea Street. Later the ridge on the river side of Angelsea Street was bulldozed away, thereby flattening the area for the development of Garden Place and the central CBD around the Hamilton City Council buildings.The area was initially used as a car park, which was very popular with retailers and shoppers. In 1967, the car park was closed and Garden Place was laid out with grass and trees. A ring road encircled the beautified area, but it was removed in August 1974. The name Garden Place actually refers to the former road, not the grass park area.
Hood Street Precinct
Hood Street is the main centre of Hamilton's hospitality area, as well as south Victoria Street and Alexandra Street. Many of the city's restaurants and bars are located in the Hood Street vicinity. The street is named after English humourist Thomas HoodThomas Hood
Thomas Hood was a British humorist and poet. His son, Tom Hood, became a well known playwright and editor.-Early life:...
.
Waikato Institute of Technology
The Waikato Institute of Technology, marketed as Wintec, is one of New Zealand's largest Institutes of TechnologyInstitute of technology
Institute of technology is a designation employed in a wide range of learning institutions awarding different types of degrees and operating often at variable levels of the educational system...
/Polytechnics. Its City Centre campus is located between Anglesea Street and Tristram Street near Civic Square and the Hamilton City Council municipal building.
Waikato Museum
The Waikato MuseumWaikato Museum
The Waikato Museum is situated in the city of Hamilton, in the Waikato region of New Zealand.Previously called the Waikato Museum of Art and History, the full name has been shortened in recent years due to the incorporation Exscite, an interactive science centre, and the emphasis on Tangata Whenua...
was established in 1987 and is one of Hamilton’s largest and more unusual buildings. It was designed by Ivan Mercep, who later designed New Zealand’s national museum, Te Papa
Te Papa
Te Papa can signify:* Museum of New Zealand Te Papa Tongarewa, the national museum of New Zealand, located in Wellington* Te Papa, Tuvalu, a cape on Nanumanga, Tuvalu...
. The museum has five levels and 12 galleries, 25,000 social history objects relating to Hamilton's local history. Te Winika Gallery features Te Whare Waka o Te Winika, a 200-year-old carved waka taua
Waka taua
A waka taua is a Māori war canoe. From the Māori language waka canoe and taua army....
.
The Meteor
Located at the corner of Victoria Street and Bridge Street, The Meteor is Hamilton's Black box theatreBlack box theater
The black box theater is a relatively recent innovation, consisting of a simple, somewhat unadorned performance space, usually a large square room with black walls and a flat floor.-History:...
. The former soft-drink bottling plant and roller-skating rink was converted into a theatre. It also provides facilities on the 1st Floor, suitable for start-up businesses in the creative sector. This Creative Industries Hub known as Soda Inc is an initiative in the cultural development area undertaken by Hamilton City Council in conjunction with Wintec
Wintec
Wintec are an Australian saddle manufacturer - the manufacturer of the first synthetic saddles..The company is a subsidiary of Bates Australia, originally established in 1934, and are known for their innovative approach to saddle manufacturing, in particular the synthetic "Wintec"...
.
Clarence Street Theatre
Clarence Street Theatre is a 550 capacity theatre with a distinctive De StijlDe Stijl
De Stijl , propagating the group's theories. Next to van Doesburg, the group's principal members were the painters Piet Mondrian , Vilmos Huszár , and Bart van der Leck , and the architects Gerrit Rietveld , Robert van 't Hoff , and J.J.P. Oud...
exterior. The building was originally developed over many years by Hamilton Operatic Society and the original building was known as the Drury Lane Theatre. The current theatre was completed in 1987 by the Society and was acquired by HCC in 1997. The venue has hosted countless drama, comedy and smaller concert events.
Heritage Buildings
St Peter's Cathedral
Modelled on a 15th century NorfolkNorfolk
Norfolk is a low-lying county in the East of England. It has borders with Lincolnshire to the west, Cambridgeshire to the west and southwest and Suffolk to the south. Its northern and eastern boundaries are the North Sea coast and to the north-west the county is bordered by The Wash. The county...
church, St Peter's Cathedral was constructed with ferro-concrete by Warren and Blechynden of Hamilton. The present St Peter's was completed in 1916 . It is the fourth Anglican church on the site and it serves as the cathedral church for the Bishop and Diocese of Waikato
Diocese of Waikato
The Diocese of Waikato and Taranaki is one of the thirteen dioceses and hui amorangi of the Anglican Church in Aotearoa, New Zealand and Polynesia...
.
Hamilton Post Office Building
Hamilton’s Post and Telegraph Office was built in 1901. The building was designed by architect John Campbell, in an Edwardian BaroqueEdwardian Baroque architecture
The term Edwardian Baroque refers to the Neo-Baroque architectural style of many public buildings built in the British Empire during the Edwardian era ....
style. The building was extended by half in 1916 to meet the demand for more facilities, and remained the central post office until 1940 when its replacement opposite Garden Place opened. For the next 40 years, the building was used for Social Welfare purposes. Various other tenants include the Maori Land Court, local Members of Parliament and a Youth Resource Centre. Hamilton City Council purchased the building in 1992 and restored the building as much as possible to original condition. The renovated building was opened as ArtsPost on 27 June 1998.
Bank of New Zealand Building
The former Bank of New Zealand building was the largest building of its kind in Hamilton when it was constructed in 1875. The two-storeyed building was designed by Edward Mahoney. A single storey was added to the rear extension in 1908 and a single storey extension was added between the original building and the neighbouring premises in 1932.The Bank of New Zealand left the building in 1986 and it was vacant until it was refurbished in 1994 as The Bank Bar and Brasserie. Its restoration signaled the beginning of a multi-million dollar redevelopment at the south end of Victoria St.
Wesley Chambers
Wesley Chambers was the first multistoreyed building in Hamilton made of reinforced concrete and the first to have a lift. The building was designed in the Chicago SchoolChicago school
Chicago school may refer to:* Chicago school * Chicago school * Chicago school * Chicago school * Chicago school * Chicago School of Professional Psychology...
style by Frederick Daniell. Wesley Chambers feature Sullivanesque
Louis Sullivan
Louis Henri Sullivan was an American architect, and has been called the "father of skyscrapers" and "father of modernism" He is considered by many as the creator of the modern skyscraper, was an influential architect and critic of the Chicago School, was a mentor to Frank Lloyd Wright, and an...
-style windows with central panes flanked by narrower panes, and the unusual wrought iron balconies on two sides of the building.
For most of its history, Wesley Chambers' upper floors were tenanted by some of the city's most prominent professional people including opticians, solicitors, accountants and dentists. In the 1980s and early 1990s, the building was vacant and but in 1993, it was transformed into a boutique hotel, the Le Grand.
Hamilton Courthouse
The Hamilton Courthouse, a concrete building on a hill above Anglesea Street, was built in 1931. It had two courtrooms - the Supreme Court and the Magistrates Court. In 1974, arsonists set fire to the building. The Magistrates Court was destroyed and the Supreme Court badly damaged. In 1993, a new court complex was built next to the old building. The old courthouse was unoccupied for a decade but in 2004, a refurbishment project was approved to restore the building as a working courthouse.Public art and statues
Riff Raff Statue
The Riff Raff Statue commemorates Rocky Horror Picture Show creator Richard O'BrienRichard O'Brien
Richard Timothy Smith , better known under his stage name Richard O'Brien, is an English writer, actor, television presenter and theatre performer. He is perhaps best known for writing the cult musical The Rocky Horror Show and for his role in presenting the popular TV show The Crystal Maze...
, who lived in Hamilton. Weta Workshop
Weta Workshop
Weta Workshop is a special effects and prop company based in Miramar, New Zealand, producing effects for television and film.Founded in 1987 by Richard Taylor and Tania Rodger as RT Effects, Weta Workshop has produced creatures and makeup effects for the TV series Hercules: The Legendary Journeys...
was commissioned to create a statue of Riff Raff - one of the show's iconic characters played by O'Brien. The statue was unveiled on Victoria Street on on 26 November 2004.
Ripples
The Ripples sculpture was commissioned in 1987 for the opening of the Waikato Museum. It is a suspended sculpture, consisting of a six metre span of carbon fibre reinforced polyester resin, which represents the ripple effects of a falling stone hitting the water. It hangs between the canopy of trees, approximately 20 metres in the air, above the Waikato Museum riverbank. It was created by ChristchurchChristchurch
Christchurch is the largest city in the South Island of New Zealand, and the country's second-largest urban area after Auckland. It lies one third of the way down the South Island's east coast, just north of Banks Peninsula which itself, since 2006, lies within the formal limits of...
artist Neil Dawson
Neil Dawson
Neil Dawson is a prominent New Zealand sculptor. His best known works are large-scale civic pieces crafted from aluminium and stainless steel, often made using a lattice of natural forms which between them form a geometric whole...
.
Millennium "Koru Family" Sculpture
Located on the bank of the Waikato River, the koru family sculpture was gifted to Hamilton City by the Year 2000 Millennium Committee to commemorate the family in 2000. The sculpture was created by Carla Van de Veen of Te ArohaTe Aroha
Te Aroha is a rural town in the Waikato region of New Zealand with a population of 3,768 . It is 53 km northeast of Hamilton and 50 km south of Thames. It sits at the foot of 952-metre Mount Te Aroha, the highest point in the Kaimai Range....
, made out of Hinuera
Hinuera
Hinuera is a settlement in New Zealand....
Stone.