Historical Significance of Petone Labour Hall - Case Study Example

Heritage The old Labour Hall is found on Beach Street, Petone. It adjoins the Bank of New Zealand premises. It was built in 1926 and officially opened in 1927 by Mr. H.E. Holland who was by then the Leader of the Labour Party. The designer of the building was Mr. W.V. Wilson while the contractor was Mr. H.C. Nicholls. The hall was used for vaudeville concerts, film shows, political meetings and even dances but was recently owned by the Cretan Association. It is also insulated to help mitigate any noise effects produced by the sound system. It has been recently removed with the aim of achieving a positive heritage and visual effects (Ward and Wells n.pg). The repairs, alterations and exterior modifications protected the heritage values of the hall. This concept paper seeks to show the historical significance of Petone Labour Hall and the continued importance and identity to the community heritage despite its conversion into mainly a cinema hall. Under the severance, it is identified by the Map Number B5 on location 52 Bay Street, formally refered to as Petone Labour Hall and the legal description is Lot 70 DP 51.The building was constructed using bricks and reinforced with concrete. It comprises a large hall, a stage and a smaller lecture room located at the back. The Light House that is run in partnership with Upper Hut’s luxury 40-seat art house cinema has two theatres where unlike other theatres popcorn is prohibited (Leach et al n.pg). The special features in the Light house include the proposed insulation controls sound effects. The Light House is designed to screen movies that appeal to a larger and wider audience than those in the big chain multiplexes. Alongside the two theatres there are licensed coffee shops. The building was used mainly for entertainment purposes and now that it is a cinema hall, it does not mean it serves a different purpose. However, this preserved the building’s heritage value and also restored its role as a community entertainment center (Leach and Moulis n.pg). The new face of the building has different accessibility levels from the ground, as well as, the ticketing area and the coffee shops. There are five cinemas access levels from the ground and in every level there are seats set aside for people with disabilities. For example, there are hearing loop for sound transmits directly to the hearing aid for individuals with hearing impairments. It also has an infrared system that consists of listening receiver and a transmitter. This feeds sound into the transmitter then to the individual as invisible infrared light to the headphones. The historical significance of this hall is upheld to-date. Its purpose has not changed as it is still used as a social hall but specifically for entertainment. It is a convenient venue for any social functioning and in-house catering when requested. The hall also has spacious cafes and continually offers superb espresso coffee, variety of cold and hot drinks as well as an excellent selection of the local imported wines and beers (Ward and Wells n.pg). Through these services, the Light House creates an environment of sophistication and comfort that helps create an exceptional cinema experience. This hall makes a contribution to the heritage of the street and town. The contribution it makes is associated with the purpose for which they were made for, that is, to enhance social cohesion. It is recognized within the New Zealand Historical Places Trust as an essential archaeological site. To ensure its protection, it is against the law to make inappropriate repairs, additions or alterations that may affect its heritage values. The protection also ensures that there is thorough assessment done upon delivery of proposals to destroy it (Ward and Wells n.pg). The Light House face, contributes to the heritage of the city as well. This is through the visual impact of its style, cladding materials and architectural detail. The respect paid for the patina of age of the house contributes significantly to the house emphasizing the view that an old house should not be made to look new. This helps it retain its symbolism of an important archaeological house. This is why any modifications that have been made to the house have respected the scale of the original house. The relationship of this house with the environmental setting has been maintained. The building has retained most of its features despite the modifications that have been made to it (Leach et al 2008). The fact that it was not fully replaced denotes its historical significance. In archaeological house construction principles, repair is usually favored over replacement. Repair is done with materials that match the texture, profile, color and strength of the structure. This is what was done in the conversion of the old building to the Light House. Repair played a role in ensuring retention of the authenticity and maximum historic material of the structure. The modern sympathetic additions have enhanced the authentic hall and made a potentially significant contribution to the modern architecture. The area has a number of important old houses. The retention of its uniqueness has contributed in retaining the essential character of the area. The hall is associated with community events especially during the booking for social functions. It is part of the many historical buildings in the place and when considered as a whole amplifies the historic values of the community. According to (Leach et al 2008), the community benefits socially through leisure and this enhance social cohesion. It is held in high public esteem due to its heritage and national identity. It also provides evidence that there is both cultural and historical continuity. It has a commemorative significance since it reminds people of the Labor Party that played a major role in its construction. Retaining it just the way it is, can be supposed as preservation of the peoples’ history. The Labour Hall is important for cultural, traditional and historical reasons. It is recognized within the New Zealand Historic Places Act registration as a social hall. The film industry and other media products of the Light House have provided materials out of which the community has forged its own identity, selfhood, its notion of what it implies being male or female, its sense of class, ethnicity and race, of nationality and sexuality. The media images have helped them shape their view of the universe and its deepest values (Leach et al n.pg). Through this hall, the community has been provided with symbols, resources and myths which it constitutes a mutual culture. It has helped the community to be able to distinguish between those who have power and those who are powerless. In conclusion, Petone Labour Hall buildings continues to serve the purpose that it was initially meant to. The cinema introduction helped conserve its heritage value and restore its purpose as a local entertainment center for the community. It continues to be significant because of the positive impacts that it provides to the community, as well as, its identity. This can be seen through the continued protection it receives from the state against work aimed at demolishing or completely changing its design. Works cited Ward, T., & Wells, R. Otago & Southland Heritage Houses. (2010).Caldwell. Caxton Publishers. Leach, A.,Moulis, A. &Sully, N. Shifting Views: Selected Essays on the Architectural History of Australia and New Zealand.St. (2008). Lucia, Queensland. UQP Publishers. . Appendices Figure 1.0. the Light House figure 2.0 Read More