ADVANCE MASTERTON

Wairarapa Age, Volume XXXII, Issue 10531, 18 January 1912, Page 6

ADVANCE MASTERTON

THE TRUST LANDS TRUST BUILDINGS. A DETAILED MSGRIPTICM. : ! l;v. pursuance of i'he policy it adopted some years back, of erecting ' business promises on its vacant allot- ; meius, tlic Mastorton Trust Lands Trustees have just completed the i erection of one pi the finest blocks of .buildings in the chief thorough-j fare of Mastertow. A judicious, ex-j change of property, with the Justice) Department placed at the diisposal of' the Trust one of the best building sites in Queen Street. With a wise provision for the future, the Trustees determined upon a building which would not only he ' but which would be an adornment to jthe most conspicuous locality «n the 'town. A contract for the work was I let to Messrs Coradine and Wlhittaker, building contractors, and in. spite of the fact that great difficulties have boon experienced in the matter of labour, -the contractors have •succeeded in pushing the won. through with expedition, and have «-ompleted it in a manner creditable to themselves, and the architect vMr H. A. Jones), and satisfactory to the Trust. Jt may be mentioned that th-r. Trustees, 'prior to embarking upoai ■their building operations, pursued thv wise course of securing permanent tenants, .tad, having done so, arranged their .-okns so that, besides providing adequate office accommodation for themselves,, they met m every detail the requirements of the different businesses conducted -by their tenants. The building, which is of brick, and of two storeys, has a frontage of 5! feet with a depth of 124 feet. The main front, while not of a pretentious character, is of a neat and (pleasing design, and finished in stucco. The verandah, is a fine piece of work, and is ceiled with Canadian, stamped steel. The verandah posts are of a unique design, and it may be mentioned that they were turned out at the foundry of the 1 Mastorton Implement Company. The .front of the building is divided into two very fine shops. The shop on the Post Office ,side is taken by Mir J. Carpenter, who is now busily engaged in removing his up-to-date stock of footwear into the new. premises. The whole of the frontage of 23 feet is taken up by two magnificent v>late glass show windows, tin 1 effect 'of which is greatly enhanced by the encaustic-tiled entrance between: the windows. On entering the ' shop, one is at once impressed with its spacious and we'll-lighted interior, - while all the fittings have been.arranged oa the most up-to-date lines, and in keeping with the requirements • of a modern boot emporium. A glass screen extends down the centre, dividing the ilhdies' and gentlemen'_s departments, 'which are both furnished in such a manner as to secure the comfort as well as the convenience of patrons. In the centre qf the shop is the parcels counter, access to which may lie easily obtained from either I of the above-mentioned departments. At the back of the shop is the repairs ai'd work-room, which is in keeping with the rest of the internal arraugeI .r-.its, while there is also a spacious ■•!fiee and commodious strong roomi. The floor is of solid concrete, with a special damp course, and the lighting is obtained by means of four overhead front lights, as well ■as side lights.

The other shop in the building is to be occupied by Messrs S. and W. Ma-okay, the enterprising booksellers and stationers, who are also busily engaged in removing their comprehensive stocks into the new quarters. The two spacious plate-jglass 'windows have been specially constructed to meet the requirements of this class of business, and it is safe to predict that when the windows are replete with a choice assortment of the up-to-date stocks which this firm takes a genuine ipride in keeping, the effect will he. a striking one. The interior is finished in plaster, and -runs back a distance of o7 feet. Here one observes that a carefully devised scheme has been arranged for the

systematic classification' of the endless divisions of literature handled by the firm,. "An easy inspection means a quick selection," is a well-known

business maxim, and the moral <rf this lias been. ve<ry vividly brought home to many a firm who have displayed business acumen and foresight in the selection and quality of goods, without regard for their classificar tion. But to enable a firm to successfully accomplish this object, it is just as essential to have mbdeimlyequipped apartments as it is to have varied/and up-to-date stocks. In this connection, Messrs S. and W. Mack'ay have demonstrated wherein lies their real enterprise. The opportunity to secure /this spacious shop

came their way, and that they embraced it most readily exemplifies I their confidence in the future prosperity of Masterton. The whole of the interior equipment has been modelled according to the very latest | ideas in the world of literature, and it goes without saying that the firm's efforts to keep abreast of the times in this direction will be appreciated by the .public. Separate departments have also been, provided for fancy goods and stationery, whilst at the far end of the shop is the gramaphone parlour, where lovers of music will find a great deal to interest and please them in the fine selection of fiwaehinos and high-class records. Between these two shops is the vestibule entrance to the first floor, whioh also leads to the Trust offices at the back of the building. The vestibule is pleasingly spacious, being 25' foot 'long, and the entrance is guarded bv'collapsible steel gates. At the back the Trust Lands Trustees have reserved for themselves a fine suite of offices, with a meeting room, and adjacent to this is another spacious room for use as a public meeting

room. The staircase leading to the first floor is a massive piece of work and conveniently arranged. At the right of the lauding is the .suite of rooms ■already in occupation by Mr E. R. Wilson, surgeon dentist. There are seven rooms in. all, and Mr Wilson kindlv offered to conduct the pressman over his new apartments. 'The special feature that at once attracted the attention of the visitor was the novel arrangement of the rooms. From the spacious lobby one passes into the waiting room, occupying a space of 15 feet square. This room is in a central .position, having on its left the main surgery and on the right the second surgery, or anaesthetic | room. These three apartments extend along the whole of the main [frontage of the building, which gives some indication of their spaciousness. Adjacent to the main surgery is .the ladies' retiring room, ipleasingly ar-i ranged and furnished, in every respect. Then there is the workroom, twOiieh is fitted up with every conve-1 aience, and is particularly well lighted with) roof and side lights. Mr Wilson, has shown considerable enterprise in the matter of equipping and furnishing the apartments, which he has done thoroughly, and in the most up-to-date and enterprising manner. The balance of the first floor is taken up by Mr A. E. Winzenberg's photographic studios, but owing to the pressure of business he lias not 1 been able to remove into his new 'apartments, and there are still numerous and important details to be effected. Those, however, who have already had an opportunity of inspecting the extensive .suite of apartments which Mr Winzenberg has leased, predict that when tney are fully furnished and equipped, they -will compare more than favourably with anything of the kind in the Dominion. Special' reference will be made to these rooms at a later date. The plumbing work and gas-fitting in the building was carried out by Mr It. E. Jones, the painting and sign-writing by Messrs J. Smith and Sons, and the plastering by Mr D. WVlie. The cement used for the foundations and also for the plastering was Wilson's well known "Star" brand, and was supplied by the local agents, the Cement Pipe Company, Ltd.