Heritage et AL

Ref: Lopdell House, December 2013 I live in Titirangi, and in recent weeks, I have watched Lopdell House emerge like a pale butterfly from its cocoon of scaffolding and plastic building wrap. It has undergone seismic strengthening and significant refurbishment , and work has now started on an adjoining new gallery . This locally important, grand building has had an interesting history and over the years has been used for a wide range of purposes. Built to try and capitalise on the established tourist trade in Titirangi and the Waitakere Ranges (primarily Auckland day trippers) ‘Hotel Titirangi’ was built in 1929-1930, and was promoted as “A Castle on the Fringe of Heaven” (‘Lopdell House and a History of Hotel Titirangi, by Peter Buffet (1986)). Ref: JTD-10A-01675, Advertisement for Hotel Titirangi, 1936, West Auckland Research Centre The ‘Spanish mission style’ hotel could accommodate over 60 guests in its fully-carpeted rooms with en-suites, and included a small shop, t...

Ref: 4-377, looking west towards Queen St, Auckland Central showing the south side of Vulcan Lane, 1880s, Sir George Grey Special Collections Vulcan Lane. Just the name has nifty ring to it although interestingly, the city never actually did come up with the name intentionally – it was simply a nickname that stuck. According to the Auckland City Street Names Index , it was “Previously Victoria Lane. Named after the Vulcan Foundry, High Street ” (see p.31) Ref: 4-1776, looking west from O'Connell St showing Vulcan Lane, 1919, Sir George Grey Special Collections The lane has an interesting history - a fire destroyed much of the area in 1850, and two prominent hotels (still standing today) opened in the decades following - the Queen's Ferry Hotel in the 1860s (pp. 31, 54) and the Occidental Hotel in the 1870s (pp. 31, 53). By the 1890s the lane was overcrowded and getting rather a bad reputation, although there were still professional offices in the street.