Art Deco Napier

McDeco, Napier
see all photos »

So we hired a car in Wellington and headed up North towards Napier. It was very misty so we couldn't say what the scenery was like en route.

Napier is an interesting city. In 1931 an earthquake measuring about 7.6 on the Richter scale destroyed most of the concrete buildings, then a fire swept through the city and destroyed most of the remaining wooden buildings. So the whole city was rebuilt. What's interesting is that it was rebuilt in Art Deco style by a number of architects and architectural students from Wellington. Along with parts of Miami, it's the best preserved Art Deco City in the world. And it's beautiful.

Door of Tobacco building
see all photos »

We did a walking tour with an English lady and learnt loads about the history, architecture and about the various details which are typically Art Deco.