Downes Building (Former)

• 1901
• Building permit for construction of the dental surgery at 201 Cuba Street SR 4237
• 1962
• addition at the back to create restaurant -SR C10468
• 1966
• alterations to first floor to enlarge restaurant - SRC19866
• 1992
• alterations to façade –SR 28551
• 2004
• internal partitions removed, some earthquake strengthening - SR 108256
• 2001
• 203 Cuba Street, seismic upgrade to ground floor, alterations to WC (00078:1065:81917)
• 2002
• 203 Cuba Street, seismic upgrade to levels 1 and 2, additions to level 3, new interior levels 1 and 2, upgrade of office/reception and stairs (00078:1070:86099)
• 2004
• 203 Cuba Street, removal of AFA monitoring of alarms and replacement with private monitoring (00078:1409:123029)
• 2006
• 203 Cuba Street, hotel alterations (00078:2224:145340)
• unknown

• 1905 - 1930
• Downes Brothers, dentists (Stones1905,1910,1915-16,1920,1925,1930).
• 1940 - 1951
• Called Desmond House Stones1940. Francis Crawford, clerk (1945, Wises1950-51),
• 1961 - 1990
• Orsini's Restaurant (Wises1961-62,1967-68,1971-72,1975,1980,1985,1990)

Not assessed

201 Cuba Street is a small two storey brick masonry building built originally as a dentist surgery in 1901. The original facing brick on the Cuba Street façade has been painted, as has the tiled panel below the first floor windows. The Cuba Street façade features two large arched openings at the ground floor, and the northern arched opening was originally a window and has since been converted to house a set of ‘French’ doors. The southern arch comprises a recessed entrance porch which leads to a panelled door with side and top-lights. There is a modern (recent) addition of a door opening centred between the two arched doorways. The windows at first floor level are set out as a group of three windows, a window blank and a pair of windows – all are timber sashes.

The roof is unusual for Cuba Street in that it is not obscured by a parapet, and the shallow pitch of the roof (and the original rectangular rainwater goods are still) visible. There is a simple repeated frieze above each of the first floor windows and above the window blank. The building is also unusual for Cuba Street in that it is set back from the (back of pavement) building line; that it was designed originally as a dental surgery and has never featured a commercial shop-front window; and that the building has never been fitted with a verandah. The building has been described as having “Art Nouveau” overtones, particularly the simple frieze above the first floor windows and the asymmetrical design of the windows on the Cuba Street façade.

The building is set back from the building line of Cuba Street and there is a low wall and small courtyard set between the pavement and the front elevation. There is a narrow access path to the north of the building.

Brick masonry building

The original plans show a tiled frieze directly under the first floor windows on the Cuba Street façade – the tile frieze has been painted over as have the facing bricks on the Cuba Street façade.

Timber floors and roof structure

Timber sash windows at first floor

Ground floor ‘french doors’ with a semicircular window head – modern replacement of original window

Ground floor doors with square head – modern insertion

Block 5 of the Cuba Street Heritage Area was once a transition zone between the mainly residential area of “Southern Te Aro” and the commercial area of Lower Cuba Street. This arrangement changed when the Salvation Army developed sites in Cuba Street, particularly the 1907 “People’s Palace” low cost, alcohol-free Salvation Army hotel at 213 Cuba Street, and the 1904 building at 203 Cuba Street that was first leased by then purchased by the Salvation Army in 1928 to form an extension to the People’s Palace. The block contains several modern buildings including the 1989 Booth House for the Salvation Army, and the 1964 Wellington Trawlers factory and retail complex. The scale of the block is generally two or three storeys high with the notable exception of the People’s Palace Hotel complex and Booth House.

The former Orsini’s restaurant is framed by the much larger three storey Morgan’s Building (1922) to the north, and the three storey (with a two storey addition) former People’s Palace Hotel (1904) to the south. Both its neighbours are listed in the WCC Heritage Inventory as is the former National Bank (1917) on the west side of Cuba Street that is NZHPT Category I.

• 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 former Downes dental surgery and residence is a small two-storey Edwardian house. The house is notable for its unusual English ‘Arts and Crafts’ asymmetric street façade that was perhaps influenced by the Art Nouveau style.

• 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 makes a positive contribution to the character of Block 5 of the Cuba Street Heritage Area

• 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 an unusual feature in block 5 of the Cuba Street Heritage Area in that it is set back from the pavement edge building line; has no verandah; was built to a low, domestic scale; has no parapet; has no shop-front window. These features ensure that the building is a considerable contrast to larger neighbouring buildings.

• Association

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

  The building was designed by McKay & McGregor. James Hector McKay went on to become a partner in Crighton, McKay and Haughton, a well known and long established Wellington architectural practice.
  The building is associated with Orsini’s Restaurant and Littlejohn family of restaurant owners 
  

  
  

• Archaeological

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

  The site has some archaeological significance – Inner city Wellington site

• 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 remained (relatively) unchanged on the site for over 100 years and contributes to the sense of place and continuity of the Cuba Street Heritage Area

• Sentiment Connection

  Is the item a focus of community sentiment and connection?

  The building is the focus of some community sentiment and connection due to its status as an early (1960s) ‘classy’ licensed restaurant. This was an era when dining out was reserved for ‘special occasions’ and the building that once housed Orsini’s Restaurant continues to be remembered as the background to significant events in the lives of Wellingtonians.

• 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 façade to Cuba Street retains most of the original building fabric although the facing brick and tile panel have been over-painted, the Diocletian window has been converted to a door and there has been a modern door opening inserted in the centre of the façade at ground floor levels. The interior and rear of the building are modern insertions and the interior partitions have been removed.

Not assessed

• NZHPT Professional Biographies
• Dictionary of Scottish Architects
• WCC Cuba Street Heritage Area report for DPC 48
• WCC Archives – original building consent application ref 4237; Building Consent application SR 9035936; SR 28551, 1997
• NZHPT Field Record Form 1984
• WANGANUI COLLEGIATE SCHOOL, REGISTER 1854 - 1947
• Stones (1940)
• Newspapers and periodicals
• Burton, David. “Another tandoori for capital”, The Dominion Post, 05/02/2012
• THE BALLANCE MEMORIAL. Press, 10 March 1894
• THE BALLANCE MEMORIAL UNVEILING OF THE STATUE IN PARLIAMENTARY GROUNDS. Evening Post, 7 April 1897
• DEATH OF MR S. S. DOWNES. Evening Post, 16 May 1898
• DENTAL EXAMINATION. Wanganui Chronicle, 18 December 1899
• du Fresne, Karl. “Come Dine and Dance With Me”, Dominion Post ‘Your Weekend’ section, Saturday 2nd June 2012.
• Evening Post, 2 October 1891
• Evening Post, 23 May 1894
• Evening Post, 20 October 1894
• Evening Post, 27 November 1894
• Evening Post, 13 August 1896
• Evening Post, 25 January 1897
• Evening Post, 7 December 1897
• Evening Post, 19 February 1898
• Evening Post, 15 February 1900
• Evening Post, 29 October 1900
• Evening Post, 31 December 1900
• Evening Post, 17 May 1902
• Evening Post, 18 July 1936
• FUNERAL NOTICES. Evening Post, 2 April 1937
• ORDINARY MEETING. Evening Post, 19 March 1891
• Websites
• '1961 - key events', (Ministry for Culture and Heritage), updated 24-Dec-2009
• Bronwyn Dalley. 'Wine', Te Ara - the Encyclopedia of New Zealand, updated 27-Sep-11
• Bronwyn Dalley. 'Wine - Industry in flux, 1910s–1960s', Te Ara - the Encyclopaedia of New Zealand, updated 22-Feb-12. URL:
• Bronwyn Dalley. 'Wine - Foundations for the future, 1960s to mid-1980s', Te Ara - the Encyclopedia of New Zealand, updated 1-Mar-09.
• Bulleyment Fortune website accessed July 2012
• Dictionary of New Zealand Biography (DNZB) entry for McKay from
• McDonnell, Hilda. 'Pallo, Karl', from the Dictionary of New Zealand Biography. Te Ara - the Encyclopedia of New Zealand, updated 16-Nov-10
• The Cyclopedia of New Zealand [Wellington Provincial District] 1897.
• 'The end of the 'six o'clock swill'', (Ministry for Culture and Heritage), updated 9-Sep-2011

• Inventory Report

Not available