Public Conveniences (Former, ‘Taj Mahal’)

• 1928
• Building constructed. (00205:14:1343 and 00056:61:B5832)
• 1936
• Dome roof repaired.
• 1951
• Verandahs covered, work to make leaking roof weather-tight.
• 1952
• Leaking skylight repaired. (00009:1567:11/5/2)
• 1954
• Roof painted in advance of the royal visit and procession. (00009:1567:11/5/2)
• 1955
• All 32 windows in domes replaced (replaced with copper radix glazing bars and wire cast skylight glass and necessary flashings). (00009:1567:11/5/2)
• 1957
• Renewal in copper of existing glazing bars and glass and flashing same in copper, reconstruction where necessary of timber in glazing bar area. (00009:1567:11/5/2)
• 1958
• Replace malthoid portion of main roof with corrugated copper, cap flash parapets with sheet copper, recover verandahs on east/west walls with fibre glass. (00009:1567:11/5/2)
• 1973
• Downstage Theatre converted building to use it for offices, a design room and theatre exhibition area. (00058:873:C38816)
• 1982
• Alterations to building approved, carried out under building permit. (00058:0:C60876)
• 1996
• Neon sign installed. (00078:4:20313)
• 1999
• Refit of the kitchen and bar area. (00078:216:51792)
• unknown
• Alterations for Dome Restaurant, 1999. 51792

• 1928
• – Wellington City Council
• 1971
• Leased to the Hannah Playhouse (Downstage Theatre) as a workshop.
• 1978
• – Tea shop and gallery.
• 1982
• – Taj Mahal Café and Gallery.
• 1997
• - ‘The Dome’ Restaurant and Bar.
• unknown
• Today the building is occupied by the Scorpios Restaurant and Welsh Dragon Bar. (2012)

Not assessed

This small single storey building is distinctive for its simple Raj-influenced Stripped Classical decoration. It has semi-circular ends, two domes – at either end – and stripped Classical design motifs which include a bracketed cornice and steeped roof parapet.

When built, there was a women’s rest room under the dome at the north end with wash areas and toilets in the body of the building, while the men’s toilets, with a semi-circular row of urinals under the dome, occupied the south end. This arrangement was changed long ago and the internal arrangements greatly altered. Today the principal spaces are occupied by a bar, restaurant and kitchen, with new partitions and fittings. The northern end of the building is obscured by a fenced enclosure.

Rendered reinforced concrete. Tiled mosaic floor covering. Malthoid roof covering.

The former ‘Taj Mahal’ public convenience’s exotic appearance and general profile is is strongly enhanced by its unusual location on the narrow median strip between two wide and very busy roads, Kent and Cambridge Terraces. It is a highly visible building (although somewhat less so than when it was a toilet because of a fenced enclosure and landscaping on its northern end). Furthermore, it is located right on the edge of the intersection with Courtenay Place and Majoribanks Street, where a number of significant heritage buildings are located on key corners, including the Hannah Playhouse on Cambridge Terrace, and the Clemenger BBDO Building and the Embassy Theatre, both on Kent Terrace.

Cambridge Terrace, between Wakefield Street and Courtenay Place contains an important cluster of pre-1930s buildings (excepting the Hannah Playhouse and the modern YHA Building) that add much to the historic and architectural character of the area.

• Architectural

  Does the item have architectural or artistic value for characteristics that may include its design, style, era, form, scale, materials, colour, texture, patina of age, quality of space, craftsmanship, smells, and sounds?

  The Taj Mahal is a small, single storey building constructed as a simple Raj-influenced, stripped Classical building. The domes and decorative scheme are an unusual and whimsical addition to an otherwise utilitarian building.

• Group

  Is the item part of a group of buildings, structures, or sites that taken together have coherence because of their age, history, style, scale, materials, or use?

  The building is one of a group of public utilities designed in a quirky and unconventional style by the Wellington city engineer’s department in the 1920s.

  The building is also part the Courtenay Place Heritage Area, a mostly continuous heritage landscape of buildings constructed in the first half of the 20^th century, although there are significant differences in form and style between some of the buildings.

• Townscape

  Does the item have townscape value for the part it plays in defining a space or street; providing visual interest; its role as a landmark; or the contribution it makes to the character and sense of place of Wellington?

  The building is a Wellington landmark, in part for the whimsy of its design, and in part for its location in the centre of a busy transport route along Cambridge Terrace.

  The building makes a positive contribution to the streetscape of Cambridge and Kent Terraces and the Courtenay Place Heritage Area (which extends to include this building).

• Association

  Is the item associated with an important historic event, theme, pattern, phase, or activity?

  The building has a historic association with the tram service that ran in Wellington until 1964.

• Association

  Is the item associated with an important person, group, or organisation?

  The building is an example of the key role played by the Wellington City Council in providing important public utilities.   

• Archaeological

  Does the item have archaeological value for its ability to provide scientific information about past human activity?

  This building is included in the NZAA Central City Archaeological Area R27/270.

• Identity Sense Of Place Continuity

  Is the item a focus of community, regional, or national identity? Does the item contribute to sense of place or continuity?

  The building has occupied its present site since 1928 and, being such a visible structure, it contributes strongly to the sense of place and continuity of the Courtenay Place Heritage Area.

• Public Esteem

  Is the item held in high public esteem?

  Affectionately known as the Taj Mahal, this building is held in high public esteem. This was demonstrated by the public campaign to save the building when it was threatened with demolition in 1964, and by the various references to the building in popular culture (for example in cartoons, as a backdrop to student capping stunts) over the years.

• SentimentConnection

  Is the item a focus of community sentiment and connection?

  There is considerable affection for this building despite the loss of its original function. In its role as a bar/restaurant, it remains open to the public and it is still well patronised. Strong public support to keep the building in the past reveals the depth of its appeal.

• Authentic

  Does the item have authenticity or integrity because it retains significant fabric from the time of its construction or from later periods when important additions or modifications were carried out?

  The building exterior is relatively unaltered and retains most of the original building fabric.

• Rare

  Is the item rare, unique, unusual, seminal, influential, or outstanding?

  The building is rare because it resembles no other building in Wellington, or, in all likelihood, New Zealand.

• Importance

  Is the item important for any of the above characteristics at a local, regional, national, or international level?

  The ‘Taj Mahal’ has to be one of the country’s most interesting former public toilets or public utility of any kind, and is of local importance for its contribution to the Courtenay Place Heritage Area.

Not assessed

• Kelly, Michael and Russell Murray, Wellington City Council, Courtenay Place Heritage Area Report. Welllington City Council: Unpublished report, prepared for Plan Change 48, 2006.
• NZ Historic Places Trust Buildings Field Record Form, “Taj Mahal Restaurant”, No1434.
• Stoks, Francis G. The Taj Mahal: Some Historical Notes, unpublished report, Oct 1978.
• Wellington City Council, Courtenay Place Heritage Area spreadsheet. Wellington City Council: Unpublished report, prepared for Plan Change 48, 2006.
• Wellington City Council, Wellington Heritage Building Inventory 1995. Wellington City Council, 1995.
• Wellington City Council, Wellington Heritage Building Inventory 2001: Non-Residential Buildings. Wellington City Council, 2001.
• Wellington City Council Records
• “Heritage Building – Cambridge/Kent Terrace – Taj Mahal”. 2003. 1041-06-CAM Vol 1, Wellington City Council Records.
• Archives: “Conveniences, Courtenay Place [Cambridge Terrace]”, 1928, 00205:14:1343, Welington City Archives.
• Archives: “Cambridge Terrace, men's convenience”, 20 Jan 1928, 00056:61:B5832, Wellington City Archives.
• Archives: “Kent Terrace, Cambridge Terrace, alterations”, 19 Sep 1973, 00058:873:C38816, Wellington City Archives.
• Archives: “Cambridge Terrace, additions and alterations”, 13 Dec 1982, 00058:0:C60876, Wellington City Archives.
• Archives: “Cambridge Terrace, install neon sign”, 05 Jul 1996, 00078:4:20313, Wellington City Archives.
• Archives: “Cambridge Terrace, additions and alterations”, 1999, 00078:216:51792, Wellington City Archives.

• Inventory Report
• Evening Post, Volume CVI, Issue 3, 4 July 1928, Page 10
• 1928 plans
• 1982 plans
• 1999 plans

Not available