NZ Visual Diary - entry 307

Canterbury Arcade building

Buildings, like people, often reveal mixed heritages, an amalgam anchored in moments of place, time and circumstance.

I make no claims to being a trained architectural historian. Self-instruction gets one only so far. But, in this study of the Canterbury Arcade building on Queen Street, I see the richness of Victorian style architecture, specifically its propensity for borrowing elements of varied architectural relations - Gothic, Beaux Arts and Italianate among other stylistic traditions.

First among equals in this image is the surfeit of oriel windows, one of my favourite architectural features. The three-sided window adds depth and sophistication to any building. The four floors of oriel windows in the Canterbury Arcade building are breathtakingly beautiful.

With a nod to the Beaux Arts tradition, the windows are beautifully accented by courses of elaborately corded garlands, a finishing touch much like the elegant top hats worn by aristocratic gentlemen of the Victorian era.

Lastly, the cornice and roof contain brackets and flat roof line that are emblematic elements of the Italianate architectural style.

Finally, as a note of entrepreneurial history, the timeline of Pat Menzies Shoes, the anchor store in the Canterbury Arcade, presents an illustrated narrative of what was, in 1975, the youngest retailer at the time to establish a retail business on Queen Street.