A permit for this two-storey building was issued on 11 March 1925. It was connected to the Devon Street building and greatly increased C.C. Ward's retail space. The Taranaki Daily News profiled the building in an article published on 5 August 1925. The heading reads "C.C. Ward's Additions", indicating that the build included some portions of an earlier building.
It was designed by Messenger, Griffiths & Taylor and the contractor was Julian & Sons. The estimated cost was £2,250.
A lift was added at the rear of the building in 1926.
In 1992, C.C. Ward Ltd. celebrated 100 years of trading on the same site in New Plymouth.
On 11 July 2017 the building was sealed off by the New Plymouth District Council after inspections revealed "gravity column damage". The laneway next to the building has been cordoned off and the owners were given 20 working days to supply a remedial plan. The building remains unoccupied (2024).
The building was listed in the 1995 NPDC CBD Heritage Inventory.
In August 2024 the back of this building and the one on Devon Street East were demolished as part of a refurbishment project - the facades will remain intact.
Town Section 907 (subdivided c1876 Deeds Plan 8), Taranaki Land Deed Index I1 Page 401 and I5 Pages 294 & 295.
(Both this building and the one on Devon Street East are registered as a category 2 historic place with Heritage New Zealand)
Related documents:
Taranaki's Largest Drapery House (Taranaki Herald 9 March 1940)
Back Of Historic Buildings Demolished (Taranaki Daily News 21 August 2024)
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