Construction of the new boardwalk on the waterfront started about a month ago. I can't remember how long the finished walk is supposed to be, but I hope longer than the concrete foundations indicated last weekend. I love boardwalks. Across the street development for waterfront apartments started about a decade ago, and the black building, a popular used-house-parts store (fire places, stained glass windows, French doors and brass parts, among others) was the biggest casualty. But the apartments proved too expensive, even before the world crisis, and many are rented out on short terms as holiday accommodations. Big gaps remain like scars left by greed and scheming minds. I just had to put that in; these apartments are one of the symbols of the changing faces of Nelson in the last decade or so. Definitely less charming.
"Big gaps remain like scars left by greed and scheming minds."
ReplyDeleteCouldn't agree more. ou wouldn't have experienced Auckland before the rape and pillaging. They knocked down an historic building and got fined $500...
JB, referring to the 1980's when a fabulous Auckland hotel on cnr of Victoria and Elliot Sts was knocked down? To this day (as far as I am aware) it is still just an open hole carpark. Then there was the beautiful old His Majesty's Theatre and Arcade they destroyed in the dead of night to avoid the protestors. NZ has a lot to answer for re destruction of Victorian architecture, once one of the finest in the world. Thanks Meg for the update. Lesley Expat Kiwi
ReplyDeleteMeg, Panic thought - hope it IS just a boardwalk, they were talking about putting a road on the water side, which would totally destroy the character of the whole area. Lesley Expat Kiwi
ReplyDeleteJB, yeah, we missed the Auckland inner city destruction, but watched the urbanization of the North Shore. Nowadays, Whangaparoa is almost connected to Albany. Phew. And still, when you do walk up and down Queen St, there are still nice charmers in Auckland - at least far more than one would expect if you step back and look above the shop front!
ReplyDeleteLesley, no, no street. This is the only stretch they're working on so far, so I just hope the boardwalk is not just this stretch but longer.
Unless they widen the road for just a little bit. We have a bit of a bottle neck situation coming out of town in front of where Dunes used to be because suddenly, though the road is still 2-lanes, parking is permitted and so functionally it becomes a one-lane after the lights after the beach and sports ground parking. But I'm 99.99% sure it's the boardwalk, because all the buildings are still there. Unless of course they do it like Key West way out in the water.... No, I'm just kidding.
Lesley
ReplyDeleteI meant Brown's Mill, in an alley just behind the theatre, connecting to Albert St
The gallery in HMA was iconic - our English/Ethics teacher used to take us there to have folks from the University (Keith Sinclair was one) come and talk to us about McCahon and Modrian
Man!!! Was it a state school?
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