Straddling the junction of two of Wellington's earliest streets, Lambton Quay and Willis Street, is the Stewart Dawson's Building, constructed in 1901 for the London jeweller David Stewart Dawson.
Dawson was born into a farming family in Cairnie, West Aberdeenshire in 1850. He opened his first jewellery shop in Liverpool in 1871. Advertising and low prices ensured his success and allowed him to establish a shop in London. He opened his first store in Australia in 1880 and in 1900, twenty years later, showed his 'faith in the future of Wellington' by purchasing a site for his first New Zealand store.
The site Dawson purchased from chemist William Fitzgerald had been known since the 1840s as Clay or Windy Point. Located on Wellington's original beach front, the site was marked as the 88th most desirable acre in Wellington by New Zealand Company selectors. Initially occupied by a brickworks, the area was altered beyond recognition by land reclamations in the 1860. Used by Warmoll's Clothing Company from the 1860s, and sold to Fitzgerald in 1896, the location became part of the rapidly developing commercial heart of the city.
Dawson commissioned Wellington architect William Charles Chatfield to design a building to fit the triangular site in 1900. Chatfield designed a three storey building with a front that mimicked the angle created by the junction between Lambton Quay and Willis Street. The first floor was designed as retail space and featured a showroom with a domed skylight. Offices occupied the two upper levels. Chatfield designed the façade in the Edwardian Classical style with subtle detailing. Constructed from materials of 'the very best quality' by building and contracting firm Priddey and Muir, the Stewart Dawson Building was completed in 1901.
Soon after the building's construction, the site became known as Stewart Dawson's Corner. Operated by Dawson and his descendants, the jewellery shop flourished, and the building became a meeting place and reference point for Wellingtonians. In existence for over a century, the company began a slow decline after Dawson's death in 1947. In Wellington, the jewellery shop remains in operation on the ground floor, but is now one of the last of the many shops opened by Dawson. In 1983 Dawson's descendants sold the building to Realty Development, who strengthened and refurbished the structure. It was sold to Renouf Properties Ltd in 1988, a time when many early commercial buildings in the city were demolished. Discussion with the New Zealand Historic Places Trust led the firm to set aside their plans to construct a tower block in place of the building. Stewart Dawson's was modernised in 1996 and sold the following year to MFL Mutual Fund Limited. The upper floors of the building continue to be used as office space by tenants, while Dymock's Bookshop and Stewart Dawson's jewellers occupy the renovated retail space on the ground floor.
A significant landmark and reference point in Wellington, Stewart Dawson's Building has considerable local importance and is held in high esteem by the public. The structure demonstrates the skill of William Chatfield, an early Wellington architect, and is of architectural and aesthetic interest. It has historic importance as one of the few remaining structures in the area that marks the early transition of Lambton Quay and Willis Street into an up-market commercial area, and is located on a site intimately connected with the early settlement of Wellington City.
Dawson was born into a farming family in Cairnie, West Aberdeenshire in 1850. He opened his first jewellery shop in Liverpool in 1871. Advertising and low prices ensured his success and allowed him to establish a shop in London. He opened his first store in Australia in 1880 and in 1900, twenty years later, showed his 'faith in the future of Wellington' by purchasing a site for his first New Zealand store.
The site Dawson purchased from chemist William Fitzgerald had been known since the 1840s as Clay or Windy Point. Located on Wellington's original beach front, the site was marked as the 88th most desirable acre in Wellington by New Zealand Company selectors. Initially occupied by a brickworks, the area was altered beyond recognition by land reclamations in the 1860. Used by Warmoll's Clothing Company from the 1860s, and sold to Fitzgerald in 1896, the location became part of the rapidly developing commercial heart of the city.
Dawson commissioned Wellington architect William Charles Chatfield to design a building to fit the triangular site in 1900. Chatfield designed a three storey building with a front that mimicked the angle created by the junction between Lambton Quay and Willis Street. The first floor was designed as retail space and featured a showroom with a domed skylight. Offices occupied the two upper levels. Chatfield designed the façade in the Edwardian Classical style with subtle detailing. Constructed from materials of 'the very best quality' by building and contracting firm Priddey and Muir, the Stewart Dawson Building was completed in 1901.
Soon after the building's construction, the site became known as Stewart Dawson's Corner. Operated by Dawson and his descendants, the jewellery shop flourished, and the building became a meeting place and reference point for Wellingtonians. In existence for over a century, the company began a slow decline after Dawson's death in 1947. In Wellington, the jewellery shop remains in operation on the ground floor, but is now one of the last of the many shops opened by Dawson. In 1983 Dawson's descendants sold the building to Realty Development, who strengthened and refurbished the structure. It was sold to Renouf Properties Ltd in 1988, a time when many early commercial buildings in the city were demolished. Discussion with the New Zealand Historic Places Trust led the firm to set aside their plans to construct a tower block in place of the building. Stewart Dawson's was modernised in 1996 and sold the following year to MFL Mutual Fund Limited. The upper floors of the building continue to be used as office space by tenants, while Dymock's Bookshop and Stewart Dawson's jewellers occupy the renovated retail space on the ground floor.
A significant landmark and reference point in Wellington, Stewart Dawson's Building has considerable local importance and is held in high esteem by the public. The structure demonstrates the skill of William Chatfield, an early Wellington architect, and is of architectural and aesthetic interest. It has historic importance as one of the few remaining structures in the area that marks the early transition of Lambton Quay and Willis Street into an up-market commercial area, and is located on a site intimately connected with the early settlement of Wellington City.
