Levin & Co. Building, 164 Princes Street (1917)

This single storey reinforced concrete building on the corner of Grey Street and Princes Street was erected in 1917 as warehouse for Messrs. Levin & Co. 

Levin & Co. were a Wellington-based stock and station agent, with an import and export side to the business. 

The Hawera architect Stephen Gibson called for tenders in February 1917. Gibson would go into partnership with another prominent local architect John Duffill and when the Hawera & Normanby Star described the building in some detail in October 1917, both men were credited, along with the builder J.W. Tong. 

This building had just been completed, and the main store was described as covering 3,900 square feet; the ullage room 850 square feet, tobacco room 120 square feet and the office 1,100 square feet. A particular feature was the lighting from the roof, designed on the "saw-tooth principle, and the lighting all being from a southerly direction, no direct sunlight can play on the goods".

It's possible that the exterior is quite different today than when first built, however, some detailing on the front Princes Street entrance can be seen on the original plans (ARC2004-1102 - detail) held by Puke Ariki. 

Related items:

Taranaki DP2894 Sheet 1 (1911), ICS Pre 300,000 Cadastral Plan Index (Imaged by LINZ)

Taranaki DP3065 Sheet 1 (1912), ICS Pre 300,000 Cadastral Plan Index (Imaged by LINZ)