Designed in the 'Stripped Classical Style', the entry in the New Plymouth Heritage Study (1995) for this building describes it as being particularly interesting due to, "its original use as a mix of service station and residential flats, rare anywhere in New Zealand, and its picturesque townscape quality on the long curve of the junction of two main streets."
It's located on the corner of St Aubyn Street and Queen Street, opposite the Cenotaph. It was built in 1927 for the building firm Jones & Sandford. A building permit was issued to them on 18 October 1927 and the contact price was £3,000. The architects were Messenger, Griffiths and Taylor.
In the 1960s the Citroen dealer, Cawthray Motors, was located on the ground level and also occupied the building next door on St Aubyn Street. A photograph published in the New Plymouth Photo News in April 1964 shows a service station on ground level and a 'motel' occupying the upper floors.
The entire building has now been converted into six apartments.
In 2019 the building received two grants from the Government's Heritage EQUIP fund for structural assessment and design advice.
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