9/29/2016 0 Comments Historic commercial building demolished in Majoribanks St, Mount Victoria, WellingtonThis century-old commercial building in lower Majoribanks St started coming down yesterday. It was owned by various Chinese families and was a laundry until the early 80s, when it was sold. I tried to get permission to take photos inside, but to no avail. I think developers and demolition contractors are pretty wary about photographers, in case we're trying to save the building or something. Just wanted to record some history. Never mind. I walk past the old place 12 times a week and shall miss it. One day a month or so ago, I noticed the building suddenly abandoned. The front door was open, so I wandered upstairs, expecting to find someone there. There was no one. I took a few photos on my cellphone and left, locking the door behind me. Here they are. And here's a bit of historical info, kindly sent via a recent tenant of the building. It's a shame that all the beautiful old timber in the building, the floorboards and stair treds in particular, couldn't be recovered; but demolition methods these days don't seem to allow for that process to take place. People who're interested in doing that can't seem to get a look in due to regulations, insurance requirements to operate and suchlike. The big digger just smashes the building down, loads it into a dump truck and that's the end of its story.
Anyway, I'm about to pass the building, on my way home, so will see how demolition has progressed. Might add another pic or two.
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