The Auckland Savings Bank Building is a Category I historic building located at 260 Queen Street,

Auckland CBD The Auckland Central Business District (CBD), or Auckland city centre, is the geographical and economic heart of the Auckland, Auckland metropolitan area. It is the area in which Auckland was established in 1840, by William Hobson on land gifted ...

, New Zealand. The building is recognised as the oldest intact bank building in central Auckland and a significant example of late 19th-century commercial architecture. Constructed in 1884, it originally served as the premises of the Auckland Savings Bank. In 1977, the building was acquired by the newly established McDonald's New Zealand and converted into a

fast food restaurant A fast-food restaurant, also known as a quick-service restaurant (QSR) within the industry, is a specific type of restaurant that serves fast food, fast-food cuisine and has minimal Foodservice#Table service, table service. The food served ...

. It was the first

McDonald's McDonald's Corporation, doing business as McDonald's, is an American Multinational corporation, multinational fast food chain store, chain. As of 2024, it is the second largest by number of locations in the world, behind only the Chinese ch ...

restaurant in Auckland and the second in New Zealand, after

Porirua Porirua, () a list of cities in New Zealand, city in the Wellington Region of the North Island of New Zealand, is one of the four cities that constitute the Wellington#Wellington metropolitan area, Wellington metropolitan area. The name 'Poriru ...

. The restaurant closed in 2020 and relocated two doors down Queen Street. In June 2023 McDonald's listed the building for sale. , it remains on the market.

Architecture

The building was designed by architect Edward Bartley, with a facade inspired by Italian Renaissance palazzi—an architectural style often associated with commercial and banking institutions of the era. It is one of the few surviving buildings on Queen Street that is over 100 years old.Former Auckland Savings Bank, 260 Queen Street
(from

Heritage New Zealand Heritage New Zealand Pouhere Taonga (initially the National Historic Places Trust and then, from 1963 to 2014, the New Zealand Historic Places Trust; in ) is a Crown entity that advocates for the protection of Archaeology of New Zealand, ancest ...

. Accessed 8 August 2010.) Significant elements of the facade and interior have been restored and preserved.

History

The building was constructed in 1884 as the head office of the Auckland Savings Bank ( ASB), which had been founded in 1847 to promote thrift and financial literacy among Māori and working-class Aucklanders. Its construction coincided with a period of rapid economic growth and the expansion of savings deposits during the 1870s and 1880s. The building replaced an earlier brick structure on the same site and was part of a broader trend in which several banks along Queen Street were being established or enlarged. ASB occupied the building until 1968, after which it was used for various alternative purposes, including a fast food restaurant and dance studios.

Gallery

Auckland Savings Bank Interior, McDonalds.jpg, Parts of the old interiors are still visible Auckland Savings Bank, 1072656.jpg, Auckland Savings Bank Building c. 1910 Banking Akd Savings Bank, 1110549.jpg, Interior of bank c. 1910

References

External links

Buildings and structures in Auckland Heritage New Zealand Category 1 historic places in the Auckland Region Commercial buildings completed in 1884 1880s architecture in New Zealand Auckland CBD {{Auckland-struct-stub