Visiting Napier is like stepping back in time. The city’s central business district is home to dozens of original buildings and shopfronts that exemplify the key styles of the Art Deco movement.

Napier was devastated by an earthquake in 1931, which resulted in the death of over 250 residents. From this tragedy, a new vision for the city emerged.

As the city was rebuilt after the earthquake, the buildings in the central business district were designed in the popular architectural style of the time, known as Moderne, later termed Art Deco. Thanks to the efforts of the Art Deco Trust, many of these buildings have been preserved and restored. When walking along Emerson and Tennyson streets, be sure to look up—you’ll surely discover the beauty, elegance, color, and motifs that define Art Deco. Some of these motifs are inspired by the indigenous Māori culture of the region.

Queen Elizabeth II stayed at the Masonic Hotel in Napier, and Prince Edward VIII, who later abdicated the throne, spent three months in the city.