 | Wellington Lambton Quay & Downtown Reviews | Tips 1 - 10 of 11 |  |
 | |  |  | Lambton Quay & Downtown: Town Hall | |  |  | |  |
| | | | Lambton Quay & Downtown: Civic Square, a spectacular Italian-style Piazza | | | | | |
A truly spectacular Italian-style piazza in the heart of the city, surrounded by fabulous buildings, for example, the Town Hall, the Public Library, the City Gallery, a children’s museum, the Convention Centre which includes the Illot Theatre. We spent some time there on a Sunday afternoon, attending a free show of comedians and acrobats. This demonstrated the great quality of the square. Lots of space for people who also enjoy having their lunch there on nice days, many sitting on the stairs of the City-to-Sea Bridge. Although a big space, the Civic Square did not look as if it could hold 10,000 spectators for concerts. At least, I would not be one of them if that amount of people really flocks to the piazza ;-) The negative side: After 6pm the square can feel rather dead, as most of the surrounding buildings are public buildings and offices. The centre in the space over the square is a spectacular artwork named Ferns, by Neil Dawson. It is a globe displaying ferns hovering in the air. Other fantastic artworks are the Nikau Palms, designed by Ian Athfield, bringing NZ nature into the city. The brick-red paved surface of the square contributes to the great atmosphere, creating a fantastic contrast to the white and light-coloured buildings around. Photo 2 shows Nikau Palms, by Ian Athfield. Photo 3 shows Town Hall and the Convention Centre. On photo 4 is a stone sculpture. Sorry, forgot the name... :-(
|
 | |  |
| | | | Lambton Quay & Downtown: Bucket Fountain, colourful Display in Cuba Mall | | | | | |
The Bucket Fountain is the best-known feature of Cuba Mall, the pedestrian part of Cuba Street. It was installed in 1969, after the tramway lines had been removed from the street. The fountain was designed by the architects and town planning consultants Burren and Keen, and consists of sugar scoop-like tipping buckets. The buckets are smaller than you would expect, and the water splashes less at unprepared tourists than you would hope ;-) With its bright yellow, red and blue buckets it looks a bit like a kids playground feature. At least, I had expected much more action and splashing after having read all the exciting comments about it in guide books and on the internet. Every time we passed there I stayed quite a while because I thought I had probably not waited long enough for the scoops and buckets to fill and tip – but no, my expectations had just been too high. The operating system is simple: Water flows up through tubes into a water tank, and when the top buckets fill they tip water into the lower buckets or scoops. The fountain is located on Cuba Mall, between Dixon and Ghuznee Streets. Directions: In the central city
|
| | |
| | | | Lambton Quay & Downtown: The Embassy Theatre, Red Carpet on Courtenay Place | | | | | |
This is where you get to see the world or NZ premieres of NZ made films like Lord of the Rings or the remake of King Kong, by Peter Jackson. Or more likely: Where you might spot more or less famous people walking down the red carpet and attending the premiere. It is THE cinema in NZ. The Embassy Theatre is located at the top end of Courtenay Place, on Kent Terrace. Built in 1924, it has been fully refurbished to a fabulous standard as a picture palace, and really has this touch of class. Looks very nice at night when it is lit up by spotlights. Address: 10 Kent Terrace Phone: (04) 384 7657 Website: www.deluxe.co.nz If you are interested in NZ film making perhaps the Wellington Movie Tour would be something for you. There is a tour on offer with 25 Lord of the Rings scenes, on-location movie clips, props for pictures, behind-the-scenes stories, King Kong ship and information on future film projects. Phone (027) 419 3077 Website: www.movietours.co.nz Email: info@adventuresafari.co.nz See also: www.flatearth.co.nz Directions: Courtenay Place/Kent Terrace, downtown
|
| | |
 | 1 | 2 |  |
|
 |
 |
Search Hotels
Find the best room rates |
|
 |
|
Wellington
on March 31, 2006
on January 25, 2003
on May 4, 2005
on October 14, 2005
on April 16, 2008
on December 12, 2006
