Dilworth Building

The Dilworth Building is a special old building in Auckland CBD, New Zealand. It is located at the corner of Customs Street and Queen Street. The building has apartments to live in and shops on the ground floor.

It was designed by the architects William Gummer & Reginald Ford and built between 1925 and 1927. Today, it is very important to New Zealand and is listed as a Category I Historic building by Heritage New Zealand.

When it was first built, people thought the Dilworth Building would be part of a grand “gateway” to the city, with another matching building on the other side of Queen Street. But that second building was never built, so the Dilworth Building stands alone as a reminder of those plans.

History

The Dilworth Building was built to help pay for students at Dilworth School. At first, the Dilworth Trust Board had offices on the 9th floor, and other people rented the rest of the space.

Later, the building was sold, but some of the original decorations are still there. It has also been used by the American consulate and, during World War II, it was a headquarters for the U.S. Army.