Commercial Building, 11 Courtenay Place, is a rare example in Wellington of a brick building where the bricks are still in their original state (unplastered or unpainted); its four gables also make it a prominent building on Courtenay Place. The building was originally four shops, built for Edwin M. Goodwin for £3,600. The architects were Atkins and Bacon, the builders McLean and Gray; the permit was issued in January 1911, and drawings showing minor amendments are dated March 1911. Members of the Goodwin family owned the building until 1950, when J R McKenzie Ltd took it over. From 1954 to 1976 it was owned by Whitcombe & Tombs Ltd (later called Printing & Packaging Ltd). The BNZ Provident Association bought it in 1976 and leased it to McDonald’s restaurant chain in 1979. McDonald’s moved out in 2002. The style was unusual for its time, when embellishment of commercial buildings was the norm. The decoration is mainly in the patterning of the bricks. As the Wellington City Council Heritage Inventory notes, ‘Each gable is supported by plain pilasters, with a pair of windows between each. The windows are square headed, set in reveals with semi-circular arched openings.’ Major upgrading, including structural strengthening, was carried out in 1977. Decramastic tiles were added to the roof in place of iron, but were replaced in further upgrading work undertaken in 2002–3. A glazed verandah replaces the original curved corrugated iron one. Today the first floor facade is in original condition, ‘adding texture, colour and pattern to the south side of Courtenay Place’. Commercial Building has architectural and aesthetic significance – its unusual façade in a prominent location adds to the streetscape appeal of this end of Courtenay Place.