Ernest Larcomb probably designed this building as it backs onto another Larcomb-designed building at 264 Cuba Street – both owned by Thomas Kerslake.

This brick building’s original façade included twin pediments - one above each of its two shops, as pictured above. Little original decoration remains, and its entrances are also altered. The east-side shop was occupied between 1896 and 1974 by a tobacconist-barber business – mostly (1896-1972) by the Giorgi family. Since the late 1990s the Monsoon Asian Kitchen has been there.

This building’s unique ‘architectural feature’ is the remnant of an early 1890s telegraph pole still protruding through its verandah. The pole slightly predates the building, and became its middle verandah post. The upper part was removed around 1920 and the base ‘tailed’ in recent years. Now the historic telegraph pole is only a short length of timber that protrudes above the verandah and which is perched atop a new verandah post.

Edmund de Jersey Clere designed this shop for jeweller Patrick Francis (‘Frank’) O’Connor, of the firm Messrs O’Connor & Tydeman in 1923. O’Connor and his former business partner, Mr F. Tydeman, had founded a jewellery and watchmaking business in 1900. However, Tydeman returned to England in March 1907, leaving only his surname.

Messrs O’Connor & Tydeman moved into its new shop in early spring 1923, with Barry & Freeman Ltd., Dentists, based upstairs. Later that year the business was sold to another local jeweller, Mr N.D. Stubbs. Stubbs remained there until 1983. Various other businesses have occupied it since then.

Both this and the neighbouring Hepworth (‘Steeles’) building are designed in the late Edwardian Free Style, a style that drew its inspiration from the Renaissance. The presence of a similar-sized building next door has enhanced and emphasised the pleasing design of the two shops.

Charles Macintosh Ross purchased the ‘Bon Marche’ business on this site in 1883. In 1924 plans were made to purchase adjoining land and to erect this building. Wellington firm McMillan Bros. won the job at £27,746.

Arthur Robert Allen and Herbert Leslie Hickson drew their design from the ‘Chicagoesque’ style – an American school dominated by Louis Sullivan and John Welborn Root. Sullivan and Root designed buildings that featured larger windows, skylights and lighting in stairwells, to maximise natural light. However, Allen & Hickson also recreated the unique top line of Ross’ original little shop, including the flagpole, onto the top line of this building.

In 1959, the 'Roscos' store became Milne & Choyce, then in 1966 D.I.C., followed by Arthur Barnett in 1987. In 1992 PNCC became owner of both land and buildings, and the building reopened as the new library on 25 May 1996. While its above-verandah façade is largely authentic, its interior was substantially replaced during the upgrade.

The Hepworth/Steeles building was erected in early 1917 for Herbert Hepworth, a pharmacist. Designed by Thorrold-Jaggard and erected at a cost of £1,504, the two-storied building included the shop, a dispensary, an office, large workroom and bottle store downstairs, along with living quarters upstairs for Hepworth. A special feature of the building was its oriel bay front window – which is typical Queen Anne-style architectural feature.

Hepworth operated his pharmacy for at least two decades. Hepworth is understood to have sold the shop to the O’Connor family in the 1940s. Soon after it was occupied by Anne Gray Ltd., lingerie specialist, and by 1952 Steeles Corsetieres (NZ) Ltd, also lingerie specialists, were there. Their name now occupies the upper façade where the word ‘Pharmacy’ once was.

This building replaced William Park’s bookshop, which burnt down on 16 March 1928. Thorrold-Jaggard designed it in April 1928 for Mrs Emma Childs. Then of Lyall Bay, she was the widow of Tom Childs, former licencee of the nearby Commercial Hotel. Built by Mr H. Dickel at a cost of £2,656, it comprised of two shops and a separate workspace or office space upstairs that was accessed directly from the footpath.

For many years, one of the shops – and perhaps the workspace upstairs – was occupied by a succession of men’s tailoring shops, including Coopers Ltd. (1930s-1940s) and Manly Outfitters (c1950), with Puddleducks and the Ocakbasi Turkish Kebab shop sharing it by the early 1990s. The Lone Star Café & Bar now occupies it.

The building’s design has some classical elements, for example, the use of wreaths to decorate the side columns of the façade. It also draws on the Art Deco style due to the geometric motif on the upper façade.

Designed by the city firm J Rex Roberts & Partners, the first stage (overlooking the Square) of the seven-storey Colonial Mutual Life Building opened in late July 1978. The second stage (adjoining Cuba Street) was then still under construction. Brian Elliott, a partner with the designing architects, said its design was “somewhat revolutionary. The sheer wall and frame construction structure was designed to relate to the Square and was set back from Rangitikei Street to give a vista to the Square for people moving along Rangitikei Street.”

Renamed Westside Buildings, by 2003 this building and the nine storey former Commercial Union building opposite were being converted into accommodation for international students. Branded “@theHUB”, this building became ‘The Hub West’. The Hub West’ was nearly complete by April 2004. In 2012, this building was described as having 62 rooms, of which 50 had their own bathroom facilities. The third floor, however, was occupied by Radioworks.

This building, which was designed by architectural firm Penty & Lawrence, (Francis Penty and Charles Alexander Lawrence) was erected in 1912, to replace the Union Bank of Australia (built 1881) which had burnt down on 16 September 1910.

The new banking chamber took up two-thirds of the ground floor (excluding the manager’s residence). Its four 16 ft high pillars consisted of steel cylinders reinforced with concrete. The remaining third of the ground floor included the manager’s office, and the strong room. The single storey back portion of the building contained the manager’s dining room, kitchen, toilet, washhouse, etc. The upper floor, accessed from Coleman Place, included the drawing room and six bedrooms.

In 1925, two shops (designed by Swan Lawrence & Swan) were built where the single storey block had been. Meanwhile the upper floor became offices. A café and a bar now occupy the former banking chamber.

Arthur Robert Allen and his then business partner, Herbert Leslie Hickson, designed this building for Frederick Mowlem in November 1924. Allen and Hickson had designed one long building to stretch between Cuba Street and The Square, however, only this part was built to their plan. The above-verandah façade remains largely authentic – although it was designed to have “Mowlems Buildings” cut into the upper façade. Its building permit was issued in February 1925, and it was evidently complete by year’s end - the cost being £8,887. Fred Mowlem died in November 1925, and his wife Mary died in August 1926, however, it remained in the Mowlem family until sold to the Bares family in 1967. Designed with two shops and various offices and other small businesses upstairs, its major early tenant was the Para Rubber Co. Ltd., which occupied it between about 1934 and 1983.

The Borough Council bought this site in 1889. The present building was designed by James Walker and Lloyd C. Love, built by L. McMillan & Co. Ltd. at a cost of £300,000, and was opened on 4 November 1965.

The building’s exterior was designed to be as maintenance-free as possible. Eighteen unique stainless steel solar screens covered the Main Street frontage until 2011. Designed to admit maximum light, they also blocked the sun’s glare and heat. Adjustable aluminium louvers shielded the Square frontage. The terrazzo panelling on the building’s exterior consisted of polished marble aggregate, with golden brown aggregate on the ground floor exterior walls being Italian rumble marble. The main double staircase and the water feature beneath it also incorporated these materials.

Significant refurbishment in 2011 included removing the exterior screens, and the installation of tinted, double-glazed windows on the upper floors. Later additional windows were installed in the wall overlooking the Square.

Designed by Christchurch architect, Joseph Clarkson Maddison, this highly decorated ‘Second Empire’ building is the only example of the style in Palmerston North. ‘Empire’ in this context refers to the French Empire of Napoleon III.

The four-storey £17,000 Grand Hotel opened on 15 June 1907. The Grand became the town’s most elaborate building of the period. Containing 59 single and double bedrooms, the building, which was erected by Messrs Trevor & Sons, took about 800,000 bricks and 2,400 bags of cement to construct, excluding that used for plastering. The observation tower, above the street corner, stood 24 metres tall, with a 4.5 metre flagpole atop that. This was, therefore, one of Palmerston North’s tallest buildings, and certainly its most up-market hotel for many years.

The landmark tower was removed in 1963, although its base remains. The imposing main staircase, probably carved by local carvers, Messrs Payne & Co., is now the building’s only authentic interior feature.

Two unidentified engineers in the City Engineer’s Office are credited with the actual design of this building. Erected in brick and concrete with the exterior plastered in a “delicate shade of green,” the Art Deco style building has a band of bas relief ornamentation that then provided contrasts in brown and beige to “harmonise with the surrounding plantation.” The building’s semi-circular windows, which were intended to admit maximum light, and its interior decoration, also reflected its Art Deco style.

Messrs A.W. Wood & Sons erected the building at a cost of £1,683, and the completed cost (including furnishings) was £1,859. It opened to the public on 21st December 1936. It contained a comfortable rest room for mothers and children complete with water and milk heating facilities, a waiting room, and a lavatory with six cubicles. Two private ‘toilet rooms’ (for changing clothing, freshening up, etc.) were also present, along with the attendants’ room.

Oscar Jorgensen designed this steel-framed brick and concrete building in July 1929 for Frederick Bryant. Built by Trevor Bros. Ltd. at a cost of £11,100, it replaced one of the city’s oldest buildings. Its frontages overlooked both The Square and Church Street. There were three shops on the ground floor and the upper floors each contained three sets of flats.

Mr Oates’ musical warehouse opened in December 1929. Rees Furnishing Co. Ltd arrived in the 1950s. In June 1957, L.G. West, Son & Callander designed substantial alterations. The three shops became one and the first floor was converted for retail purposes. Businesses that utilised the building included Rees Furnishing, Maple Furnishing Co., and Smith & Brown and McDonalds Restaurant. Following McDonalds departure various new businesses have arrived. The building also underwent major earthquake strengthening in 2013.

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.

Wellington firm Mitchell & Mitchell and Partners designed this building. This five storey office block was erected for the Mutual Life and Citizens Assurance Company. Aside from the various towers and church spires, this building was perhaps the city’s tallest at that time.

The building was officially opened on 23 June 1965. The contractor, J.L. McMillan & Co. Ltd., said that it was the city’s first major building with demountable partioning. Terrazzo (NZ) Ltd. commented there was “decorative British-made faience ... fixed to the imposing façade.” ‘Faience’ is glazed earthenware decorated with opaque colours. The building was then predominantly teal, set off with cream and white, befitting its design heritage. However, it is now shades of brown and beige. It has a variety of tenants, while men’s clothing firm, Goldfinch & Cousins, occupies one of the shops. Surviving design features include the ground floor foyer, which contains decorative Terrazzo floor tiles and wooden wall panelling.

Architect Joshua Charlesworth, of Wellington, designed Palmerston North’s former Chief Post Office. James Trevor & Sons, of Wellington, erected the building in brick with cement render, after a tender of £5,254. Its foundation stone was laid by Postmaster-General Sir Joseph Ward on 27 May 1905, and it was officially opened by Ward on 5 February 1906.

In 1916-17 it was extended to its present form along its Square frontage, and enlarged twice, once in 1927, then in 1938.

The building’s elegant 24.3 metre asymmetrical tower, which was removed soon after the 1942 earthquake, originally housed the four-faced clock and chimes that is now part of the Hopwood Clock Tower in the Square. The clock, which was officially started on 9 November 1906, was christened ‘Kerei Te Panau’ after the very elderly Rangitāne chief, who was present for the event.

The UFSD Building was built by F. Jackson & Sons (at a cost of £5,141) to Arthur Robert Allen’s design. As well as the two main floors, it also has a basement and a second floor meeting room on the roof that was formerly the UFSD boardroom. A large louvred skylight mounted on the roof has been a feature of this building.

About two-thirds of the width of the roof, is a glazed light and air well that reaches down through the first floor to provide light to the ground floor. A smaller skylight provides light for the stairwell. In 1948, fire partly gutted the first floor and the smoke was first noticed coming from the skylight.

The UFS Dispensary’s shop closed around 1998 after about 75 years on the site in this building and also in its predecessor. The building’s above verandah façade remains largely authentic.

This section of Church Street and The Square was once known as ‘The Strand’, and that was the source of the building’s name.

Robin Hood designed the Strand Building for the firm Strand Buildings Ltd. in March 1930. The successful tenderer for the brick and concrete building, was the partnership of Mouldy & Holmes, at a cost of £3,480. In late 1930, the first floor was subdivided to plans also drawn up by Hood. One of the original tenants was Mr W. Chrystall, who operated a very posh unisex hair salon and a beauty salon for women, in part of the building.

The design combines a mix of Art Deco (i.e. the stepped roofline) and the traditional classical design. The decorative motif surrounding the date possibly draws its inspiration from Art Nouveau. The chimney presently mounted at the front of the façade is not original.

The Civic Building was designed by Thorrold-Jaggard as part of the Waldegrave Estate. Tenders for the reinforced concrete building were called in March 1935, and it was duly erected between the Kosy Theatre and the Post Office, by Messrs Dickel & Kempson at a cost of £4,485. By 1939, it was occupied by the drapery shop of Miss Margaret Rae and Miss Iris Baker, and Dayal Patel’s fruiterer’s shop, with dentist Earle R. Wimsett’s based upstairs. By 1948, Woollams’ chemist had replaced the fruit shop, and a medical doctor had also moved in. These businesses remained in the shop for many years.

The Imperial Chambers was designed by Thorrold-Jaggard as part of the Waldegrave Estate. Tenders were called in April 1937 to erect the reinforced concrete and brick building - the successful tenderer being Messrs Arnold & Matthews, at a cost of £12,600. Occupants outlined in 1939 included the De Luxe Shoe Company, Latta & Gooding, drapers, and Manhattan Ltd., mercers. Radio & Electric House (PN) Ltd. replaced Latta & Gooding by 1959, while the De Luxe Shoe Company remained for many years. Manhattan Menswear shop remains in this building.

John James Waldegrave arrived from England in 1855. The family settled in Palmerston North in 1872, where he established the first and second Royal Hotels in the Square. John Waldegrave, who had purchased this site in 1873, died in 1891. The Waldegrave Estate once had four buildings, including this one, on this property. The block stretched between King Street and the Square, although the second shop fronting the Square (built in 1934) is long gone.

Tenders were called to erect this building in May 1932 - the successful contractor being H.C. Townsend, at a cost of £6,590. Thorrold-Jaggard was the architect. The building consisted of shops and a number of other businesses upstairs. R. Hannah & Co.’s shoe store moved into this building. In 1936, the shops included Blandford’s furriers, and J.R. Wood Ltd., chemist. By 1943, Boots (NZ) Ltd. occupied the chemist shop, and a pharmacy continued to operate from this building until recent years.

William Coombs bought the site of this building in about 1881. Following his death in 1907, the land was transferred to his widow, Alice Coombs (1857-1940). C. Tilleard Natusch & Sons’ received the contract to design this building.

Wellington contractors, Messrs Irvine & Burr began erecting the concrete building in late 1925, at a cost £16,083. The first stage was the main building, the second was the electrical work and lift, and the third was the shop fronts, which were complete by June 1927. The building was named after the (then) neighbouring Commercial Hotel. The plans indicate that the new building was erected around pork butcher Bert Hansel’s small-goods shop.

The Commercial Building was designed in the Inter-War neo-Georgian style, the style’s features being described as symmetrical with modest detailing. As originally built, the three-storey building consisted of four street-level shops, with suites of offices on the upper two floors. Many different businesses have occupied it over the years.