Queen Street is the main commercial highway in Auckland CBD, Auckland, New Zealand's main population center. It starts at Queens Wharf at Auckland waterfront, adjacent to the Britomart Transport Center and the Downtown Ferry Terminal, and runs further uphill for almost three kilometers in the south-southwest direction towards the Karangahape Road ridge, and the outskirts of the inland suburb of Auckland ismus.
Video Queen Street, Auckland
Geography
Named after Queen Victoria, Queen Street was an early development of Auckland's new city (founded in 1840), although initially the main road was meant to be the Shortland Road, running parallel to the Gulf Coast Commercial. The initial route of Queen Street leads to the middle of the mound following the banks of the Waihorotiu Stream (later limited as 'Ligar Canal'). This canal is a culvert under way from the 1870s onwards, allowing for further development of the road to be undertaken. The river trip is still reflected today at the small bend of Queen Street lower. From the north of Shortland Street, Queen Street was built on land reclaimed from the sea at the end of the 19th century (see Auckland waterfront article).
There are several other 'Queen's Roads' in the greater Auckland area, mostly on the outskirts of the city that are separate towns before being absorbed by the growing city center. Auckland is also called "Queen City" since before the turn of the 20th century, although the term is now overshadowed by the nickname "The City of Screen".
Maps Queen Street, Auckland
History
Street, Stream and Channel
The settlements in the Queen Street area began in 1841 with a number of wooden buildings along the west side, following the Waihorotiu Stream common path according to the plan set by surveyor Felton Mathew. When the road was driven in 1843 ('metal' is a New Zealand term for gravel roads), natural flow is still overflowing, and the area is still swampy. This causes the canalization and later closure of the river stream.
Mainstreet Auckland
After a fire in 1858 destroyed about 50 buildings on High Street and Shortland Street, the commercial district began to shift towards Queen Street, and the first brick and plaster building of the 1860s began to cement this movement, with the Bank of New Zealand building (fa_§ ade that still exists today) became one of the first examples. But fires continued to engulf the new city, with one in 1873 wiping out 54 other buildings in the Queen Street area between Wellesley Street West and Gray Street (today Grays Avenue). Fires, among other things, led to the establishment of the Auckland Fire Volunteer Service.
In the 1880s, the first horse-drawn bus began connecting Queen Street with areas such as Ponsonby Road and Remuera. In 1900, the first car was admired in the street, and in 1902 the road was finally paved, the first street in New Zealand. In the same year the first electric tram also arrived, to provide service until 1956.
The 19th and early 20th centuries saw a large number of magnificent buildings being built, such as Smith & amp; The Caughey Building, Auckland City Hall and the Common Post at the seashore, later became the Britomart Transportation Center. At that time, the streets were very popular for events such as parades and celebrations, as well as for political activities such as the 1913 strike demonstrations. Queen Street riots broke out in adjacent Aotea Square in late 1984. During the second half In the 20th century, many old buildings on Queen Street was destroyed to make room for larger office buildings.
Character
Queen Street is known for its reputation throughout the country, even by people who have never seen it. It gives its name to the most expensive square in the New Zealand version of Monopoly and for a somewhat disrespectful description of business people with rural investment interests (but no agricultural expertise): 'Queen Street Farmer '. The road was immortalized by The Front Lawn with their song (It starts on) Queen Street .
The streets have been the venues of various parades, parades and other events of a political, cultural or sporting nature. Along with the adjacent High Street, it is a major retail area in the city center, with most national stores, banks and franchised restaurants having branches on the street. Some other important local businesses, like Smith & amp; Caughey department store, has a flagship branch here.
The road saw a very high number of pedestrians, estimated by some people up to 10 times higher than at Broadway in Newmarket, seen as the nearest shopping street rival in Auckland.
Transport and traffic footage
Prior to the 2006-2008 road upgrade (see below), Board figures show that over 50,000 pedestrians, 40,000 public transport users and 20,000 people use private vehicles using Queen Street every day. The council anticipates that the share of private cars will drop about 15%. Editorial The New Zealand Herald accused the Council of using excessive amounts of public transport users for political purposes to support its bus lane plans.
Old tram network
Until December 1956, the tram provides public transport along Queen Street, and it is the only avenue in New Zealand with a large union, a double track for a double-track crossing, where trams can go in all directions from all directions. This intersection is at the crossroads with Customs Street and Wellesley Street. Since the closing of the Auckland tramway, Balaclava Junction on Melbourne's tram network has been the only major remaining unit in the Southern Hemisphere.
2006--2008 increase
The public perception of the early 2000s was that Queen Street had lost some of its good reputation in the previous decades, with its shabby and uncoordinated roads and the loss of some of the prestigious retailers called cause or effect. Auckland City Council decided to tackle Queen Street's 'tired' problem through road reconstruction.
This involves widening and relaying the path with basalt kerbstones and paving. Insets of granite, designed in consultation with M? Local Ori (Ngati Whatua iwi), as well as recycled redchip paver from existing trails, are used to denote special areas - such as those associated with the existence of the old Waihorotiu Stream. New street furniture (such as multi-purpose poles for illumination, signboards and banners) and new trees and other landscaping are added to create a 'boulevard effect'. Ambar liquid and Nikau Palms selected for the new designs touched heated public discussions in 2006 because their inclusion came at the destruction of previously established trees (which are not native New Zealand flora, and thus not retained in the new landscape plan).
The 2006-2008 project repeatedly increased the cost, from NZ $ 23 million to approximately NZ $ 43.5 million, with some aspects (such as an improved entrance to Myers Park) becoming victims of the explosion. While the Board noted in June 2007 that progress is often faster than expected, cost swelling, and the long duration of construction work - which substantially affects pedestrian and motor vehicle traffic and retail sales - makes the increase unpopular in the community, at at least for duration. It also became a problem issue for Dick Hubbard in a failed campaign for re-election to the Mayor of Auckland in 2007.
The increase is now considered to have been successful in general, and won the 2009 Urban Design Award from the New Zealand Institute of Architects, who praised it for creating a quality public nature and sense of place.
Increase priority
To accommodate the construction work, the Auckland City Council reduced the traffic lane for vehicles to one lane in each direction as early as 2007. A proposal was made for this to be permanent, with the provision of extended public transport such as bus lanes and cycling lanes proposed for the outer lane. Also proposed is a speed limit of 30 km/h. The discussion of the committee and public consultation resulted in four physical pathways being maintained, primarily to maintain the road layout for future public transport options such as light rail.
The changes include further improvements to pedestrian facilities, with a total walking area increasing by 20% to nearly 14,000 mÃ,², and a longer traffic signal phase for pedestrians, while three newly signaled pedestrian crossings are introduced mid block, in 'black spots' accident. Also done is the reduction of parking space on the street from 81 to 51, part of the priority for pedestrians. The remaining space becomes a short-term special parking (ie, drop-off, loading). Not included in the design is a special place bus, noted as a serious supervision by some critics, causing a potential delay on the proposed bus lane.
Buildings and attractions
At the north end of Queen Street are some important buildings. These include:
- Auckland Ferry Building, 1911. Architects Alexander Wiseman. This brick and sandstone building is Edwardian Baroque style. It was renovated in 1986 at a cost of $ 11 million.
- The Endeans Building, 1914-15. Queen Street Corner and Quay Street. Built by John Endean, the owner of a prominent hotel, in 1905 and rebuilt 10 years later after the fire. Architects Chilwell and Trevithick. The upper floors of these reinforced concrete buildings were converted into apartments during the 1990s. Listed as a Category II heritage building.
- (Former) Head of Post Office, 1910. architect John Campbell. Opened by Prime Minister William Massey in front of a crowd of over 8,000. This Edwardian Baroque limestone and granite building has been incorporated into the Britomart Transport Center. Campbell is the Government Architect, and consequently this building has a similar feature to the New Zealand Parliament House in Wellington, which was built around the same time.
- (Former) Custom House, 1888. Architects Thomas Mahoney, 22 Customs St. This building features a typical mansard roof of the Second French Empire Style. In 1909 extra was built in the south [now destroyed]. Prior to the opening of Town Hall in 1911 several departments of the Auckland City Council are located here. Custom House renovated for retail use in the 1980s.
Outside the intersection of Wellesley Street is a midtown district, with its entertainment and civilian focus, centered on Aotea Square. Here lies most of the important civilian buildings, including:
- Auckland Art Gallery, 1887. Grainger & amp; Architect D'Ebro. Cnr Kitchener St & amp; Wellesley St. This is one of the most interesting buildings in Auckland. The Melbourne architects won the public competition with their French Chateau design in the style of Francois II. Just after the opening of City Hall in 1911 and the new Public Library in 1971, the building was devoted to the Art Gallery.
- Auckland Civic Theater, 1929. Bohringer, Taylor & amp; Architect Johnson. 269 ​​â € <â €
- St. Theater James - 316 Queen Street. 1927 theater building in the Hollywood/Spanish style of the 1920s designed for vaudeville but the cable to talk pictures in 1929. The capacity of the stage, acoustics and seating apparitions means the theater is superior to other places of the period (His Majesty's, King's Theater , and Auckland Opera House); even after the Civic appearance it still stands out as the best place for a traditional live theater. The landmark tower above the Queen's entrance door may still be hidden behind a modernist coating.
- Bledisloe House, 1959. Modernist glass office block designed for Central Government services as part of the Civic Center proposal. Designed by Gordon Wilson with Jack Beere and named after Lord Bledisloe (New Zealand Governor General 1930-1935). It is the only complex of six identical buildings planned for the environment from what is now Aotea Square. The other five buildings are the new Town Hall, City Administration block, the new Public Library, the Public Art Gallery, and the last office block that is leased as commercial office space. In the center of this complex is the Auckland Centennial Theater and the public square. Admin Bldg was finally built in 1966 in a different form and the theater appeared in 1989 as the Aotea Center. The other four buildings will require the demolition of all other buildings in this city block including the 1911 City Hall and the City Theater. The Bledisloe building was renovated in 2014 by the Auckland Board.
- Aotea Center, 1990. Architects Ewen Wainscott. Originally proposed in 1949 as the Centennial Hall of Auckland, the construction of this building was delayed for decades. Aimed to replace the town hall, when opened it was found an acoustic problem that resulted in an expensive reparation. Complaints from players over the years resulted in the renovation of City Hall. The Aotea Center lobby contains many works of art by New Zealand artists.
- Council Administration Block, 1966. Architects Tibor K..Donner. Considered as a positive example of 1950s modernism, which contrasts with the 1911 City Hall on the far side of Aotea Square. Considered the first 'skyscraper' in Auckland.
- Auckland City Hall, 1911. J. Clark & ​​â € <â € < Sons architect. 303 Queen St. A Melbourne company designed this building in the English Baroque style. Built from Melbourne Bluestone and Oamaru rocks with art nouveau floodlights. The main auditorium has excellent acoustics based on the famous Gewandhaus Concert Hall in Leipzig, Germany. The large pipe organ was donated by Sir Henry Brett, former mayor of Auckland. The building was renovated in the late 1990s and continues to be widely regarded as Auckland's premier concert venue.
Further to Queen Street outside Mayoral Drive is the downtown district, centered in Myers Park. This is often referred to as Upper Queen Street, although the name actually refers to a separate continuation of Queen Street on the other side of the K'Road ridge. The most significant buildings in this area are:
- 'Queen Street Stores' - 456-488 Queen Street. Edwardian retail buildings from 1909 onwards. Designed by two Auckland architects, T W May and Alexander Wiseman. It forms a harmonious ensemble overlooking Myers Park but also retains many original features that are often removed from other structures; an undulating corrugated iron porch and held by vertical outposts, and almost all of the shop fronts are still intact including glazed tile work surrounds.
- Theosophical Society Building, 1923. Architect Henry Robinson. Located at the entrance of Queen St to Myers Park, this is a great example of inter-war neo-classical architecture for Theosophical Society that replaces the previous structure of 1912 located under Queen Street. Recently renovated as 'Gentlemen's club' called 'The White House'.
- Myers Free Kindergarten 1916 B.Chilwell & amp; Architects R.Trevithick. Designed as a large home-based cottage, this brick and stucco building is located in the middle of Myers Park in 1914. Examples of Art & amp; Architectural craft that still operates as a kindergarten.
- Auckland Baptist Tabernacle 1884 architect Edmund Bell. Near the corner of Queen St & amp; Jalan Karangahape. The Roman Empire of the Great Empire. The interior has decorative ceiling stencils in neo-classical style by Samuel and Charles Blomfield.
Across the Karangahape road, the southernmost back 500 meters from the road is called Upper Queen Road, and crosses the eastern part of Central Motorway Junction, the largest intersection of the New Zealand state highway network.
References
External links
- The History of Queen Street (from the Auckland City Council website)
Source of the article : Wikipedia
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