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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.

Identification

Object type
Image
Relation
Public Photograph Collection Sq 339
Date
circa 1974
Digitisation ID
2014N_Sq339_008702
Held In
Coolstore

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Creation

Created By
Place
The Square, Palmerston North

Object rights

Taxonomy

Tags
1970s,
black and white,
child's,
creche,
gardens,
leopard,
photographs,
rotunda,
the square,
traffic,
transport,
trees,
Community Tags

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Related items

A View of Te Marae o Hine / The Square
A View of The Square in the 1970s
Traffic in The Square
Palmerston North Public Library and The Square
A View of The Square
Lakelet in The Square
Second Fitzherbert Bridge
A View of Broadway Avenue and The Square.
Traffic in The Square
Rangitikei Street and The Square Insection
A View of The Square
The Square Gardens