A brief history of empty spaces
I have often wandered past a couple of prominent empty lots, one between Shortland and Fort Streets and the other bounded by Albert, Victoria and Elliot Streets in the CBD and wondered how it was that there could be car parks in what must be some of the more sought-after plots of land in Tāmaki. Other than the occasional night market pre-pandemic, what has been going on with these open-air car parks? Turns out I’m not the only one - this has crossed other’s minds too and is a popular question. A quick Google turned a heap of results, and it looks like these are the most heavily reported on carparks in the country. A colleague had similar thoughts a few years back and wrote about the Albert Street site of the Royal International Hotel. Image: Artist's impression of the new Royal International Hotel on the corner of Elliott Street and Victoria Street West, 1960s, Auckland Libraries Heritage Collections 1580-24. Artist unknown. Image: Auckland Star building, Shor...