Another attempt to save building

Press, 14 September 1976, Page 29

Another attempt to save building

The Wellington office of 1 the Public Trust must be ; preserved, and the His- 1 toric Places Trust does not 1 regard the battle to save ’ it as lost, said the trust’s < director (Mr John Dan- i iels). The Historic Places 1 Trust believed that many ' people would be appalled by the destruction of such > a fine building, he said. The Wellington City j Council had finally decided that it could not do j anything to preserve the , building, on the corner of j Lambton Quay and Stout Street. j “The Historic Places Trust realises the prob-

lerns the Council faced in acting as it did,” said Mr Daniels. “Nevertheless, the trust will seek discussions with the Public Trust, the Government, and other interested parties on ways in which the building can , be saved for a continued ; useful life.” The building was on a prominent comer site for which it was perfectly' designed, and was a wellknown landmark, M Daniels said. Its design wa-Renaissance-inspired, and was a fine example of the imposing city’ ommercial and public buildings of the Edwardian period. The trust, in earlier rep- ■ resentations to both the ]

Public Trust and the Wei- ■ lington City Council, had argued that the building was important enough to warrant subst. ntial ex- i penditure on strengthening it.