Customs Street is a street in the

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

New Zealand New Zealand () is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main landmasses—the North Island () and the South Island ()—and List of islands of New Zealand, over 600 smaller islands. It is the List of isla ...

, located between

Hobson Street Hobson Street is a major street in Auckland, New Zealand. It lies on the western side of Queen Street. It is a commercial and high-rise residential street, and provides access to the Auckland Northern Motorway going south, and the Northwest Mo ...

and Beach Road. The street is split into two sections at the junction of Queen Street, Customs Street West and Customs Street East.

History

Customs Street was built on reclaimed land. Customs Street East began as a seawall between Point Stanley and

Point Britomart Point Britomart () was a headland in the Waitematā Harbour, in Auckland (), New Zealand. Located between Commercial Bay and Official Bay, Auckland, Official Bay,

across

Commercial Bay Commercial Bay () was a historic bay on the southern side of the Waitematā Harbour that defined the original extent of the Auckland waterfront in Auckland, New Zealand. Today, the name Commercial Bay refers to the heavily developed area aroun ...

, a former bay that used to exist on the

Auckland waterfront The Auckland waterfront (rarely the Auckland harbourfront) is a city-side stretch of the southern Waitematā Harbour coastline in Auckland, New Zealand. Previously mostly dominated by Ports of Auckland uses, from the 2000s on it is becoming i ...

. By 1859, reclamation work on Commercial Bay had begun, and Customs Street was created. Much of the fill used to create the land along Customs Street was taken from Point Britomart, a former peninsula to the east of the street. The street was an important centre for trade in Auckland in the early 20th century due to its proximity to the

and the railway station. Customs Street had a mix of warehouses, commercial offices of shipping companies found on the north, with shops and businesses found to the south.

Demographics

The demographics of the Quay Street-Customs Street statistical area are covered at Quay Street, Auckland#Demographics.

Notable locations

*The Aon Centre, also known as the AMP Tower *Australis House *

, a mixed-use office tower and retail development *The former Customhouse, now the location of duty-free shopping centre T Galleria *The Dilworth Building, a historic mixed-use building constructed in the 1920s. *

Seascape A seascape is a photograph, painting, or other work of art which depicts the sea, in other words an example of marine art. The word originated as a formation from landscape, which was first used for images of land in art. By a similar de ...

, a residential skyscraper currently under construction *Queens Arcade, a historic shopping arcade *The United States Consulate General

Gallery

Dilworth Building (17700756198).jpg, The Dilworth Building Looking west along Customs Street west from Queen Street, 1927.jpg, the Waitemata Hotel on the corner of Queen Street and Customs Street in 1927 File:PWC Tower, Auckland.jpg, The PWC Tower at Commercial Bay File:NZ AK Customs Street East.jpg,

Heritage buildings on Customs Street East

File:Customs Street East historic buildings.jpg,

Excelsior Building, Stanbeth House and Masonic Club

File:Australis House - 38297532852.jpg,

Australis House and Arthur H. Nathan Warehouse (architect Arthur Pollard Wilson, who also designed Strand Arcade, Naval and Family Hotel, Northern Steam Ship Company Building and Isaacs’ Bonded Stores)

File:Heritage Building In Auckland CBD.jpg,

The former Customhouse

File:NZ AK Tepid Baths (2).jpg,

Tepid Baths on Customs Street West

References

External links

{{Streets in Auckland Auckland CBD Streets in Auckland