Art deco Westport
Posted 3 November 2008 // Simon Nathan
Westport Borough Council building – the West Coast meets Los Angeles
Although Napier and Hastings are often identified with the art deco style of architecture, it is also found in other parts of New Zealand, including Westport – the art deco capital of the West Coast.
This is because Westport was badly damaged by the 1929 Murchison earthquake. In the subsequent reconstruction in the 1930s several of the town’s larger buildings were erected, incorporating art deco features:
- The Buller County Council chambers featured in an issue of four art deco stamps produced by New Zealand Post in 1999.
- The Westport Borough Council building uses simple classical lines to produce a solid municipal building. It looks like solid stone, yet is really stucco. With a palm tree and the sun shining, it could be in Los Angeles.
- The post office building was badly damaged in the earthquake, and has been partly reconstructed using typical art deco symbols over the windows.
Many older movie theatres were built in the 1920s and 1930s, and have external decoration in the art deco style – often a good way to dress up a building that is little more than a box. One of the most out-of-the-way examples is the Lyric Theatre in Granity, with an art deco facade. Unfortunately there are no surrounding buildings to hide the other three sides.
One of my favourite Westport buildings was the St James Theatre, with art deco detailing on the front and a modern mural on the side. I photographed it a few weeks ago for the West Coast regional entry in Te Ara (due to be launched in December). But sadly this was one of the last pictures of the building ever taken.
It was long been known to be structurally unsound. During a movie session on Sunday 12 October a large crack was noticed on the back wall, and the roof was sagging. The next day it was examined and condemned. The grand piano was hastily removed, and demolition began. Before anyone could say ‘heritage’, the building was gone.
With thanks to the Westport News (www.westportnews.co.nz) for information on the last days of the St James Theatre.
