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Description

The Civic Administration Building, which dominates central Palmerston North, is the result of an architectural competition held in 1971 that was jointly won by Wellington architects Maurice B. Patience and his son John B. Patience (Maurice Patience & Son). PNCC had resolved to erect the new building in November 1972 and work finally began in 1974. It was completed in 1979 with a special Council meeting to celebrate its completion held in the new Council Chambers on 18th December 1979. The final stage of the building, the Convention Centre, was officially opened on 28th September 1980.

While the building’s formal names have graduated from ‘Civic Complex’ to ‘Civic Centre’, and then to ‘Civic Administration Building,’ it has also had ‘alterative’ names. These include ‘Elwood’s Battleship’ (after the mayor of the day), which then transformed into such things as ‘The Battleship’, due to its imposing appearance and as Elwood’s role receded into history.

Identification

Object type
Image
Relation
IMCA Digital Archive
Date
June 2020
Digitisation ID
2020BD_IMCA-DigitalMaster_031932
Format
Born Digital

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Taxonomy

Tags
architects,
architecture,
buildings,
the square,
Community Tags

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Related items

45-51 The Square – the Grand Building, former Grand Hotel
149-152 The Square – Westside Chambers, former ‘M.L.C. Building’
85-88 the Square - Bryants Building
141 The Square – Imperial Chambers
161-163 The Square – Mowlem Buildings (a.k.a. ‘Bares Buildings’)
36 The Square – ‘Childs’ building’, now Lone Star Café & Bar
Ladies’ Rest Room, The Square
145-148 The Square, 5-21 Rangitikei Street, 288-302 Cuba Street - @ the hub
1-3 The Square – former Union Bank of Australia/ANZ Chambers
10-15 The Square - Commercial Building
125-128 The Square - Waldegrave Building
153-154 The Square – United Friendly Societies’ Dispensary (UFSD) building