Salvation Army Citadel (New Plymouth)

The Citadel was opened on 4 June 1927 and served as the headquarters of the Salvation Army in New Plymouth until 1977.

The N.P.D.C. 1995 Heritage Study says its significance "lies in the simplified classical design of the late 1920s and for its prominent street corner position."

According to J.S. Tullett in "The Industrious Heart" the Salvation Army erected a wooden building here in 1923. However during a harvest festival service in 1926 the building caught fire and was destroyed, it was thought to have been deliberately lit.

On 11 March 1927 a permit was issued to the Salvation Army to erect this building at a cost of £4,200. The builder was Boon Bros Ltd.

The architects were Gray, Young, Morton and Young of Wellington. The total cost of the land and building was £4,886.  

At the time of the Heritage Study in 1995 it was home to the furniture store "La Paz". It is currently (2023) the base for the Taranaki Arts Festival Trust (TAFT).

The vertical garden on the front of the building in the picture above was designed by Tracey Perryman for the 2010 Taranaki Rhododendron and Garden Festival.

Related documents:

A Brief Outline of the First Seventy Years of Salvation Army History in New Plymouth (Puke Ariki collection)

70 Years in New Plymouth (Taranaki Herald 31/05/1954)

Blood and Fire - Eggs and Water (Taranaki Herald 24/03/1974)

Memories on a 90th Birthday (Sunday Express 13/10/1974)

Church sells citadel (undated newspaper article c1983)

A true Christian when courage was called for (Sunday Express 18/10/1987)