The National Bank’s Te Aro branch building, located at 192-194 Cuba Street on the corner of Vivian Street, was built in 1917. Designed by the Canadian architect Claude Plumer-Jones, the building has historical significance for its long occupation as branch premises for one of New Zealand’s significant banking institutions. The National Bank Building has architectural value for its distinctive classical design. The building’s façade demonstrates Plumer-Jones’ capability for classical architecture. Built in the style of Beaux Arts/Greek temple, the neoclassical motifs on the building are representative of its popularity during the late nineteenth/early twentieth century. The building is a strong contributor to the heritage values of the Cuba Street Historic Area (List No.7209) due to its prominence and distinctive style.
Te-Whanganui-ā-Tara has a long history of Māori settlement. Early inhabitants of the area were primarily iwi of Kurahaupō waka descent. By the late eighteenth century, Ngāti Ira of Hawke’s Bay had migrated south and intermarried with Ngāi Tara. Upheaval in the 1820s and 1830s prompted taua (war parties) and heke (migration) south into Wellington. Iwi associated with these heke include Te Ātiawa, Ngāti Toa, and Ngāti Tama. In 1824, Te Aro Pā, from which this area gains its name, was built on the foreshore by Ngāti Mutunga, with Taranaki iwi and Ngāti Ruanui subsequently occupying it (List No. 7771). In 1844, a deed was signed which effectively brought Te Aro Pā into the New Zealand Company’s purchase. In 1840, William Mein Smith, company surveyor, laid out the town plan. Cuba Street itself is located on what would have been cultivation land for Te Aro Kāinga. The street, named for the New Zealand Company Ship which arrived in Te Whanganui-a-Tara in January 1840, began to be developed in the 1840s. The first residence and shop–a drapers–was erected in 1845.
The National Bank Te Aro Branch was built directly opposite the bank’s former premises, which it had outgrown. The new building was purpose-built with more suitable accommodation, such as discrete apartments, incorporated upstairs for visiting staff. The building’s prominent location on the corner of Vivian Street and Cuba Street shows off its facade. The three-story exterior of the building is constructed with reinforced concrete, faced with Malmesbury stone on the rusticated base, Sandy Bay Marble at the entrance, and Sydney Sandstone for the levels above. The rectangular windows are small and multi-paned. Decorative features include eight giant-order attached Corinthian columns, which support an entablature inscribed with the words ‘National Bank of New Zealand’, and a balustraded parapet. The interior of the building retains the octagonal banking chamber and dome, with coupled Corinthian columns at each angle. A six-meter glazed dome further adds to the visual aesthetic of the interior space.
The building operated as a bank until 1996, almost 80 years after its construction. It has withstood numerous road alterations to the Vivian Street/Cuba Street intersection, including the removal of the electric tramlines in 1964 and the increased flow of traffic from the southbound motorway onto Vivian Street in 2006. In 1996, the National Bank Building was converted into the popular restaurant Logan Brown and, as of 2022, apartments are available to rent on the upper floors.
Te-Whanganui-ā-Tara has a long history of Māori settlement. Early inhabitants of the area were primarily iwi of Kurahaupō waka descent. By the late eighteenth century, Ngāti Ira of Hawke’s Bay had migrated south and intermarried with Ngāi Tara. Upheaval in the 1820s and 1830s prompted taua (war parties) and heke (migration) south into Wellington. Iwi associated with these heke include Te Ātiawa, Ngāti Toa, and Ngāti Tama. In 1824, Te Aro Pā, from which this area gains its name, was built on the foreshore by Ngāti Mutunga, with Taranaki iwi and Ngāti Ruanui subsequently occupying it (List No. 7771). In 1844, a deed was signed which effectively brought Te Aro Pā into the New Zealand Company’s purchase. In 1840, William Mein Smith, company surveyor, laid out the town plan. Cuba Street itself is located on what would have been cultivation land for Te Aro Kāinga. The street, named for the New Zealand Company Ship which arrived in Te Whanganui-a-Tara in January 1840, began to be developed in the 1840s. The first residence and shop–a drapers–was erected in 1845.
The National Bank Te Aro Branch was built directly opposite the bank’s former premises, which it had outgrown. The new building was purpose-built with more suitable accommodation, such as discrete apartments, incorporated upstairs for visiting staff. The building’s prominent location on the corner of Vivian Street and Cuba Street shows off its facade. The three-story exterior of the building is constructed with reinforced concrete, faced with Malmesbury stone on the rusticated base, Sandy Bay Marble at the entrance, and Sydney Sandstone for the levels above. The rectangular windows are small and multi-paned. Decorative features include eight giant-order attached Corinthian columns, which support an entablature inscribed with the words ‘National Bank of New Zealand’, and a balustraded parapet. The interior of the building retains the octagonal banking chamber and dome, with coupled Corinthian columns at each angle. A six-meter glazed dome further adds to the visual aesthetic of the interior space.
The building operated as a bank until 1996, almost 80 years after its construction. It has withstood numerous road alterations to the Vivian Street/Cuba Street intersection, including the removal of the electric tramlines in 1964 and the increased flow of traffic from the southbound motorway onto Vivian Street in 2006. In 1996, the National Bank Building was converted into the popular restaurant Logan Brown and, as of 2022, apartments are available to rent on the upper floors.
