Showing posts with label Soundshell. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Soundshell. Show all posts

Tuesday, 10 February 2009

Tom Parker Fountain: Marine Parade

I drove home last night via Marine Parade. I'm glad I did. Believe it or not I had never seen the Tom Parker Fountain (so named because he donated it in 1936) lit up before. Well I may have done but I don't recall it and I'm certain I didn't photograph it. This is it during the day looking South along the gardens on Marine Parade to The Soundshell:


And this is it last night:

Sunday, 16 December 2007

Veronica Sun Bay and Gazing Bowl

The central feature on the seafront of Napier is the Soundshell (1935) with its outer Collonades with its three arches (The New Napier Arch and arches in memory of Robert C Wright and Harold Latham) and the seaward Veronica Collonade or Sun Bay (1934). The original Sun Bay was demolished in 1990 and a replica built in 1991 as a Rotary project. During the Art Deco Weekend (held every February at the time of the 1931 Earthquake) the Veronica Bell hangs in the centre of the Sun Bay and is guarded by the Sea Scouts. I'll tell you more about the Veronica Bell in another posting.
In front of the Veronica Sun Bay there was re-erected on 17 March 1993 a gazing bowl which had earlier (I hate to say it) been vandalised. The first bowl was glass (circa 1935) and the second chromed copper. The present one is polished stainless steel bolted to the ground. It was made in New Plymouth (NZ) and donated by Corinne and Russel Spiller.