Webbers Building, 111 Russell Street North Inventory Number: 55; Property ID: 21340; TRIM Reference: 21340#002#0003 Draft Report by Phillip Cleaver 9 August 2007; Final Audit 9 December 2009, updated July 2012 (Cochran & Murray); Final Report: November 2012, Updated 2015 by the HDC Environmental Policy Team

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Hastings CBD Heritage Inventory Project

WEBBER’S BUILDING

Photo: R. Murray, 2012

LOCATION:

Street and Number: 111 Russell Street North

City / Town: Hastings

Region: Hawke’s Bay

LEGAL DESCRIPTION:

Legal Description: Lot 3 DP 2575

Certificates of Title (including Registry): L3/546, Hawke’s Bay Registry

Webbers Building, 111 Russell Street North Inventory Number: 55; Property ID: 21340; TRIM Reference: 21340#002#0003 Draft Report by Phillip Cleaver 9 August 2007; Final Audit 9 December 2009, updated July 2012 (Cochran & Murray); Final Report: November 2012, Updated 2015 by the HDC Environmental Policy Team

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SUMMARY OF SIGNIFICANCE:

Architectural value:

Webber’s Buildings is a good example of the Stripped Classical style as favoured by New Zealand architects in the 1920s. While the essence of the style was to “strip back” neo-Classical ornamentation to a minimum, the building is well modelled and its exterior has an interesting play of form and detail. The asymmetric composition, although well balanced is curious, looking as though a wing has been left off the left-hand side of the building, a point that adds further architectural interest.

Historic Value: The building has had a long history of retail use, and is particularly associated with Webber’s Pharmacy and the Shattky family (optometrists).

Aesthetic Value: The building is located in a key Hastings Central Business District block of two-storeyed 1920s and 1930s buildings, where it provides an interesting and well-mannered visual and stylistic contrast to its contemporaneous Spanish Mission and Art Deco neighbours. The building helps to provide a high level of visual interest to the block and makes an important contribution to the overall character of the area. Technological Value: The building was specifically designed to resist earthquakes and its reinforced concrete structure performed well in the 1931 earthquake. It has some technological value inherent in its design that predates the formal adoption of building standards for seismic resistance in New Zealand.

HISTORY:

In the 1920s, a growth in the number of small businesses encouraged subdivision of properties and shop premises in Hastings’ central business area.1 The most significant development was in Russell Street, formerly called Station Street, which was occupied by a number of old wooden buildings. To enable new buildings to be constructed on Russell Street, the Borough Council and Chamber of Commerce lobbied the government for improved terms of lease. It was eventually decided that leases would be for a term of 21 years, with a right of renewal for a further 21 years. This gave businessmen the confidence to invest in new, permanent buildings.

Webber’s Buildings (111 Russell Street North) was built in 1928 by Stanley Brothers for an estimated cost of £2,706.2 The building was designed by Hastings architect Harold G Davies (1888-1976).3 Davies worked independently before forming a partnership with Eric Phillips post the 1931 earthquake.4 Davies designed the Webber Building specifically to be earthquake proof, so that it would “roll over like a box, but wouldn’t break”.5 He was

1 M.B. Boyd, City of the Plains: A History of Hastings, Wellington, 1984, p 242.

2 M.B. Boyd, City of the Plains: A History of Hastings, Wellington, 1984, p 242; Madelon van Zijll de Jong, Historic Overview of

Buildings & Houses in Hawke’s Bay, Hastings Central Library. 3 M.B. Boyd, City of the Plains: A History of Hastings, Wellington, 1984, p 242.

4 AT 13/19/1, September 1991, Alexander Turnbull Library.

5 Fowler, M 2007 From Disaster to Recovery: the Hastings CBD 1931-35, Michael Fowler Publishing Limited, Havelock North pp. 59.

Webbers Building, 111 Russell Street North Inventory Number: 55; Property ID: 21340; TRIM Reference: 21340#002#0003 Draft Report by Phillip Cleaver 9 August 2007; Final Audit 9 December 2009, updated July 2012 (Cochran & Murray); Final Report: November 2012, Updated 2015 by the HDC Environmental Policy Team

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proved correct, as the structure of the building was undamaged as a result of the 1931 earthquake, although it was gutted by fire afterwards. Business was able to resume after clearing and renovating the interior partitions.6 Rehabilitation work for the first floor was designed by Davies, Garnett and Phillips in late 19317 for Webber and Shattky

The property, Lot 3 DP 2575, was held under lease (initially to W.H. Webber) until it was transferred into private ownership in August 1991.8 It is currently owned by J.W. McNair, R.J. Bell, SRHB 2012 Trustees Company and J.W. McNair Family Trust.

The building has been the home of many businesses. The ground floor has been used for retail shops, while the second floor has provided space for other commercial activities. It appears that for many years the ground floor was partly occupied by a chemist’s shop. Webber and Shattky were the first chemists to use the building for this purpose.9 By the mid 1940s, Webber and Shattky were operating as opticians alongside McNair’s chemist’s shop.10 At the time of the 1931 earthquake, the building was occupied by Adams Bruce Limited (a cake and confectionery store) and Florence Whitlock (a music teacher) as well as Webber’s Pharmacy.11 The ground floor has also been used for a bookshop and a jewellery shop.12 Occupants of the second floor have included dressmakers (during the 1940s) and an architect.13 Today, the Webber Building is occupied by Subway, Derek’s Hair, City Mart and upstairs, Hastings Dental Laboratory.

PHYSICAL DESCRIPTION:

Architect: Harold G. Davies (1888-1976). He was closely involved in reconstruction efforts following the 1931 Napier earthquake, forming a partnership with Eric Phillips and Albert Garnett. Davies’ firm was responsible for the design of a broad range of buildings throughout the Hawke’s Bay (the adjacent R & R Building, built in 1927, was also designed by Davies and constructed by Stanley Brothers). Davies Garnett and Phillips were particularly active as part of efforts to rebuild Hastings following the Hawke’s Bay earthquake of 1931. While Garnett left to work on his own account in 1933, Davies and Phillips carried on their partnership, which went on to become one of the most successful in the city's history. Davies and Phillips were responsible for the design of a broad range of buildings throughout the Hawke’s Bay. Among the most important buildings the partnership was responsible for in Hastings were the former Commercial Bank of Australia Building (1933), Roachs' Building (1934), Las Palmas (1935), and Hastings War Memorial Library (1959), the latter as Davies, Phillips and Chaplin14.

Builder: Stanley Brothers

Date of construction: 1928

Construction details: Reinforced concrete structure, corrugated steel roofing over timber frame, steel windows.

6 Fowler, M 2007 From Disaster to Recovery: the Hastings CBD 1931-35, Michael Fowler Publishing Limited, Havelock North pp. 59.

7 Hastings District Council files

8 CT M2/409, Hawkes Bay Registry, LINZ.

9 Wises Directory 1935.

10 Wises Street Directory 1946.

11 Fowler, M 2007 From Disaster to Recovery: the Hastings CBD 1931-35, Michael Fowler Publishing Limited, Havelock North pp. 57-

59. 12

Madelon van Zijll de Jong, Historic Overview of Buildings & Houses in Hawke’s Bay, Hastings Central Library. 13

Wises Street Directory 1940. 14

Adapted from http://www.historic.org.nz/corporate/registersearch/ProfessionalBio/Professional.aspx?ID=3084

Webbers Building, 111 Russell Street North Inventory Number: 55; Property ID: 21340; TRIM Reference: 21340#002#0003 Draft Report by Phillip Cleaver 9 August 2007; Final Audit 9 December 2009, updated July 2012 (Cochran & Murray); Final Report: November 2012, Updated 2015 by the HDC Environmental Policy Team

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Description: Webber’s Buildings is in the middle of a block of more or less contemporaneous two-storeyed buildings, opposite the railway station. This setting is more open than most of the rest of Hastings and provides good views of the building and its neighbours. Above the stayed verandah, the building has a high level of authenticity. It presents a striking example of the Stripped Classical architectural aesthetic that was in vogue throughout the 1920s in New Zealand, making a visually interesting and well-mannered contrast with its Spanish Mission and Art Deco-influenced neighbours that adds considerable visual interest to the whole of the block. The composition is, somewhat unusually for the application of this style, strongly asymmetric, although well-balanced and carefully proportioned. The left-hand part of the façade is designed as a central element, suggesting perhaps that another wing might have been intended originally. The left-hand section is symmetric about its centreline, with a wide central bay and two narrow side bays delineated by shallow rectangular pilasters with stylized capitals and bases; above this, a plain entablature carries the legend “Webber’s Buildings”, surmounted by a heavy profiled cornice. For further emphasis, the central section steps slightly forward of the sides. The steel windows are framed with plain flat facings with roundels in the corners and a distinctive stepped “sill” trim runs along the bottom. The right-hand part of the façade has two regular bays with large steel-framed window assemblies and a flat parapet. There is a row of low-set windows just above the verandah that once lit the shop spaces below. Below the verandah, the shop frontages are all modern, a mixture of aluminium and timber joinery. Only one element of the original building shop frontage remains visible today, the entry to the first floor tenancy. This has a handsome varnished oak door with bevelled glass, set in a surround of mottled tiles, in both square and brick formats with black edge trims; the head of the opening has warm grey tiles and the vertical sides have brown tiles (the tiles may be present elsewhere on the façade under modern coverings).

ELEMENTS OF ARCHITECTURAL SIGNIFICANCE:

Element Significance

Form and detail of the façade above verandah Townscape, architectural, aesthetic

Stayed verandah Townscape, architectural

Entry to first floor tenancy (ground level) Aesthetic

MAJOR BIBLIOGRAPHIC REFERENCES:

AT 13/19/1, September 1991, Alexander Turnbull Library.

Boyd, M.T., City of the Plains: A History of Hastings, Wellington, 1984.

Certificates of Title, Hawke’s Bay Registry: 10/13, A4/1373, D3/1208, L2/124, M2/409, L3/546.

Hastings District Council file information.

van Zijll de Jong, Madelon, Historic Overview of Buildings & Houses in Hawke’s Bay, Hastings Central Library.

Wises Street Directories, 1925 to 1959-60.

Webbers Building, 111 Russell Street North Inventory Number: 55; Property ID: 21340; TRIM Reference: 21340#002#0003 Draft Report by Phillip Cleaver 9 August 2007; Final Audit 9 December 2009, updated July 2012 (Cochran & Murray); Final Report: November 2012, Updated 2015 by the HDC Environmental Policy Team

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HDC Permit records: “Shops and offices, Russell Street, Hastings, for J Webber Esq.”, drawing not dated but conditions of contract and specifications are dated 27.3.1927, H G Davies Registered Architect “Reconditioning first floor area of premises, Russell Street, Hastings, for Messrs Webber & Shattky”, permit 17.10.1931, Davies Garnett & Phillips Registered Architects

OTHER INFORMATION:

NZHPT Register: Not registered.

District Plan: Webber’s Buildings is not specifically listed as a Heritage item in the Operative Hastings District Plan, 2003 but is located within the Central Character Precinct. In the Proposed Hastings District Plan decisions on submissions (notified on 12 September 2015)

New Zealand Historic Places Act 1993: This site has been identified as a potential archaeological site under Section 2 of the New Zealand Historic Places Act 1993.

OTHER PHOTOS

Heretaunga Street West view of Western side of

Webber’s Buildings (Sarah Akers, 2009)

Webbers Building, 111 Russell Street North Inventory Number: 55; Property ID: 21340; TRIM Reference: 21340#002#0003 Draft Report by Phillip Cleaver 9 August 2007; Final Audit 9 December 2009, updated July 2012 (Cochran & Murray); Final Report: November 2012, Updated 2015 by the HDC Environmental Policy Team

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Heretaunga Street West view of Eastern side of

Webber’s Buildings (Sarah Akers, 2009)

Note

Entrance to first-floor tenancy, 2012. More of these tiles may survive on other parts of the façade under hoardings and covers.

Webbers Building, 111 Russell Street North Inventory Number: 55; Property ID: 21340; TRIM Reference: 21340#002#0003 Draft Report by Phillip Cleaver 9 August 2007; Final Audit 9 December 2009, updated July 2012 (Cochran & Murray); Final Report: November 2012, Updated 2015 by the HDC Environmental Policy Team

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ARCHIVE PLAN(S):

Reinstatement First Floor of Premises, Messrs Webber & Shattky, Russell St, Hastings (1927) (TRIM Ref: 21340#031)

Webbers Building, 111 Russell Street North Inventory Number: 55; Property ID: 21340; TRIM Reference: 21340#002#0003 Draft Report by Phillip Cleaver 9 August 2007; Final Audit 9 December 2009, updated July 2012 (Cochran & Murray); Final Report: November 2012, Updated 2015 by the HDC Environmental Policy Team

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Shops & Offices Russell Street, Hastings, for J.Webber Esq. (1931) (TRIM Ref: 21340#032)

The following images all form one plan.

Webbers Building, 111 Russell Street North Inventory Number: 55; Property ID: 21340; TRIM Reference: 21340#002#0003 Draft Report by Phillip Cleaver 9 August 2007; Final Audit 9 December 2009, updated July 2012 (Cochran & Murray); Final Report: November 2012, Updated 2015 by the HDC Environmental Policy Team

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Webbers Building, 111 Russell Street North Inventory Number: 55; Property ID: 21340; TRIM Reference: 21340#002#0003 Draft Report by Phillip Cleaver 9 August 2007; Final Audit 9 December 2009, updated July 2012 (Cochran & Murray); Final Report: November 2012, Updated 2015 by the HDC Environmental Policy Team

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Webbers Building, 111 Russell Street North Inventory Number: 55; Property ID: 21340; TRIM Reference: 21340#002#0003 Draft Report by Phillip Cleaver 9 August 2007; Final Audit 9 December 2009, updated July 2012 (Cochran & Murray); Final Report: November 2012, Updated 2015 by the HDC Environmental Policy Team

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Webbers Building, 111 Russell Street North Inventory Number: 55; Property ID: 21340; TRIM Reference: 21340#002#0003 Draft Report by Phillip Cleaver 9 August 2007; Final Audit 9 December 2009, updated July 2012 (Cochran & Murray); Final Report: November 2012, Updated 2015 by the HDC Environmental Policy Team

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Webbers Building, 111 Russell Street North Inventory Number: 55; Property ID: 21340; TRIM Reference: 21340#002#0003 Draft Report by Phillip Cleaver 9 August 2007; Final Audit 9 December 2009, updated July 2012 (Cochran & Murray); Final Report: November 2012, Updated 2015 by the HDC Environmental Policy Team

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Shops & Offices for Rogers & Robjohns in the same style as the Webber building by Architects Davies, Garnett & Phillips (1931) Trim Ref: 21339#0173. This building is located on the same property as the R & R Building (Building no. 21 in the Hastings Heritage Inventory).