New Plymouth Buildings
The architectural make-up of New Plymouth since European settlement stretches from the early cottages of the1840s to the shiny steel-plated exterior of the planned Len Lye Centre. In between has come the transition from timber buildings to concrete, the art deco of the 1930s and the modernism of the 1960s. While a few private residences remain from the early days of European settlement, the Central Business District looks nothing like early paintings and photos. The early wooden buildings have mostly been demolished or destroyed by fire to be replaced by larger reinforced concrete premises. Both commercial and domestic buildings feature in this topic, which can be searched either by the age of the building or its location.
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Explore New Plymouth Buildings on the map below - buildings in blue are still standing in their original location; those in red have been either demolished or shifted outside New Plymouth District/to an unknown location; those in purple have been relocated within New Plymouth District.
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This transitional style villa was constructed for cabinetmaket Albert E. Goodacre in 1914-15. It was originally located at present 28 Tukapa Street, Westown.
A permit for the construction of a residence on Lot 9, Tukapa Road [sic], was granted to A. E. Goodacre by the Borough Council on the 17th of December 1914 - the estimated construction cost was £500.
Albert Goodacre first appears as living at this location in Tukapa Street in the 1916 edition of Wises Street Directory, and last appears in 1926. From 1927 until the mid-1930s, seedsman Arthur Robert Davis is listed as the occupier, and
This attractive residence was constructed in 1915 for solicitor James Henry Quilliam, partner in the long established law firm Govett & Quilliam.
A permit was granted to Quilliam by the Borough Council on the 25th of February 1915 for the construction of a residence in Vivian Street - the estimated construction cost was a massive £1000.
The architect is not listed in the permit books, but may have been local partnership Sanderson & Griffiths (James Sanderson & Horace Victor Griffiths), who advertised for tenders for the construction of a residence in Vivian Street during January 1915. A search of the
This bungalow was constructed for Walter J. Reading in 1930, and was originally located at 161 Courtenay Street (150 in old numbering).
On the 13th of October 1930, a permit for the construction of a house on Part Town Section 1471, Courtenay Street, was granted to W. J. Reading by the Borough Council - the contractors were Girling & Gemmell, and the estimated construction cost was £987.
Another permit was granted to Reading on the 22nd of May 1936 for the installation of a bay window - W. L. Thompson was the contractor, and the estimated construction cost was £19.
This bungalow was constructed for clerk Percy Shepherd in 1934, and was originally located at 159 Courtenay Street (148 in old numbering).
On the 21st of June 1934, a permit for the construction of a house on Part Town Section 1471, Courtenay Street, was granted to Mrs V. E. Shepherd by the Borough Council - the contractor was J. H. Shepherd, and the estimated construction cost was £500.
On the 6th of May 1972, the house (along with the house at present 63 Pohutukawa Place) was relocated to its present location in Bell Block.
This attractive double-bay corner villa was designed by noted New Plymouth architect Frank Messenger for retired farmer Walter Crump in 1909.
Messenger advertised for tenders for the erection of a residence at Strandon for Mr Crump during mid-June 1909.
Crump had previously resided in the historic nineteenth-century cottage at present 99 Inland North Road, Tikorangi. Despite moving into New Plymouth soon after the Ronald Street house was complete, he retained ownership of the Tikorangi Farm until his death in 1912.
See: Taranaki Herald, 17 June 1909, page 3
2018 View: By Hamish Crimp
A permit was granted by the New Plymouth Borough Council to Knight & Daly on the 20th of July 1929 for the construction of a house on Town Section 1583 (should be section 1584), Lemon Street - F. Coleman was the builder, and the estimated construction cost was £500.
Knight and Daly were fibrous plaster manufacturers who owned Town Sections 1582, 1583 and part 1584, with their factory located at the western end of
2017 View: By Hamish Crimp
A permit was granted by the New Plymouth Borough Council on the 25th of May 1926 for the construction of a house on Section 16, Calvert Road (later re-named Lyn Street) - Williamson was the builder, and the estimated construction cost was £500.
Walter Cecil Williamson had earlier purchased the section from the Crown for £65 after they decided it was no longer required for state housing purposes.
The
2017 View: By Hamish Crimp
A permit was granted to Sydney Roy Lovell on 21 October 1926 for the construction of a house on Section 3 [of DP4435], Clemow Road - McIntosh & Haylock were the builders, and the estimated construction cost was £590.
Lovell had earlier purchased the section from the Crown for £100 after they decided it was no longer required for state housing purposes.
Sydney didn't reside in the house, and
2017 View: By Hamish Crimp
A permit for the construction of a house on Lot 2 of Town Section 1619, Pendarves Street, was granted to labourer Robert George Brabyn on the 21st of January 1924 - the contractors were Cook & Mason, and the estimated construction cost was £750.
2017 View: By Hamish Crimp
A permit for the construction of a house on Town Section 1619, Pendarves Street, was granted to painter William Booth Taylor on the 25th of January 1925 - the contractors were Thomson & Morris, and the estimated construction cost was £800.
The house was purchased by George Samuel Clarke during the late 1920s, and it remained his home until his death on the 2nd of May 1971.
