Community Contributed
1 Victoria Street, Levin
Kete Horowhenua2020-03-23T16:50:31+00:00Art deco house
| Construction date | 1940 |
| Original owner | Mr Dick Speirs |
| Other owners | , , , , |
| Constructed by | Harvey and France |
Number One Victoria Street on the corner of Weraroa Road, was in my memory the first of the so-called Spanish houses to be built in Levin.
The style was so dubbed because of its almost flat roof and stucco exterior. The term Spanish probably came from the resemblance of the architecture in Mediterranean and Latin American countries.
This one was built for Mr Dick Speirs in 1940 by Harvey and France.
The walls rise up above the roof as a parapet with no overhang. This was forbidden in later building regulations.
Mr and Mrs Speirs, and later Mrs Speirs alone, occupied Number One until 1979 when it was sold to Mr and Mrs R. D. Young. The original corrugated iron roof was replaced by the same material that year.
Source: F.C. Swanwick