Looking Across the Lakelet towards the Council Chambers

This photograph shows the corner of Church Street West and The Square. The buildings are: The Evening Standard Building (built 1937, demolished 1974 - new premises were constructed that same year), Poulsen's Radio Service and Home Cookery Restaurant (now part of the new Manawatu Evening Standard building), the Council Chambers (built 1944-1945, now Square Edge) and All Saints Church (this brick structure was built 1914 to replace an earlier wooden church). The Lakelet was constructed in October 1909. It was the main feature of the last quadrant of The Square to be developed by the Beautifying Society. James Nash, Mayor of Palmerston North 1908-1923, opened the Lakelet before a crowd on 27 October 1909. The Lakelet is shaped as a butterfly, with the wings being bisected by a bridge as its body. It is also referred to as the Butterfly Lake.