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A View of Te Marae o Hine / The Square

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Description: This photograph of The Square was taken in the vicinity of the PDC building and looks towards the corner of Main Street West and The Square. The building in the centre is the third incarnation of the Commercial Hotel, built 1935. Next to it is the Commercial Building, still standing at 2015, and the DIC (Direct Importers Company). The DIC was constructed in 1927-1928 for CM Ross and Co Ltd. In 1959 CM Ross sold to Milne and Choyce, and in 1966 it was on-sold to the DIC. The DIC subsequently sold to Arthur Barnett in 1989. After closing as a department store in 1991 the building was acquired by the PNCC who extensively redesigned it as the Palmerston North City Library, opening 1996. It is a listed heritage building. The single-storey building opposite, in The Square, is the Rangitane Pavilion, a series of prefabricated buildings that sat opposite Main Street and the Commercial Hotel. The Rangitāne Pavilion was a meeting hall used by the community. When the City Council building were constructed, a room under the Council Chambers was incorporated for community use. It was closed in the mid 1980s.