ARCADES PROJECT

St Kevins Arcade in Auckland celebrated its centenary last year (2024), and has done well to maintain its community feel when many other arcades from that period have become dilapidated and lifeless.

The arcade has the advantage of always having been a useful walkway down to the Myers Park, which stretches down the slope below the arcade, reached by a long, wide staircase from the initial section of the arcade, and meaning that the coffee shop which draws in a big crowd of locals (and serves excellent coffee, I should add) has tables offering superb views looking down over that park.

There are lots of original 1920s features still to be seen: from the cornicing and decoration around the ceiling of the section above that staircase, to the leadlight windows above nearly all the shop units, and the signage to Myers Park at the top of the stairs.

And there is an eclectic mix of shops as well as the café: a camera shop selling lots of spare parts and vintage cameras; a vintage clothes shop; a goths accessories store; a Middle Eastern restaurant; a wine shop; as well as burger bars and other cafes.

This was just a really nice example of a period arcade that still serves its local community. A happy place to sit and sip coffee, people watching.

My pick of the arcade’s past

When the arcade first opened in the 1920s. one of the larger units was occupied by the Pram Arcade, specialising in prams and pushchairs, with both new stock and services offered to ‘re-rubber,’ ‘re-condition,’ or ‘re-hood’ existing prams. One newspaper review around Christmas 1924 spoke of the ‘refined air’ of this shop, selling prams which would ‘do justice to any baby.’ The shop was the last on the left-hand side as you enter from the street.

A ’French embroideries’ shop also opened up in the 1920s, selling embroidery made in Auckland, but in the French style. Other early tenants were a dress-making shop, a furniture store, a shop selling fur coats, and a  tea room.

During the Great Depression, there were riots in Auckland against unemployment and government cuts in services. In April 1932, these spilled over into St Kevin’s Arcade, when rioters were chased by police into the arcade, where they were cut off from leaving and then arrested. Shops in nearby streets had stones thrown at their windows, though there were no reports of shop fronts smashed in the arcade itself. However, the rioters did go down into the park behind the arcade to restock their supply of stones for carrying on their protest.

In 1950, as the Cold War heated up and the McCarthy ‘trials’ were in full swing in America, anti-Communist sentiment came to St Kevin’s Arcade, when the local Communist Party office, upstairs in the arcade was ransacked by intruders, who smashed windows, tore up magazine and leaflets, and threw material down into the arcade itself one weekend. Party volunteers were in the office at the time but did not try to stop the violence, fearing an escalation. Witnesses said the intruders were a mix of men in army uniforms and civilians.

Sources for all these stories: The Papers Past section of the New Zealand National Library website.

What memories do you have of visits in years gone by?

Have you got any good stories to add on the past of this arcade?

What’s your favourite shop in the arcade today?

Have you seen this arcade in any films or books?

St Kevin’s Arcade on the screen or in print

I found no films made in St Kevins Arcade, but the arcade appears regularly on New Zealand television as one of the characters in the TV soap ‘Shortland Street’ is often in the arcade.

A 2016 novel, “The New Animals,” by Pip Adam had many scenes in the arcade. And a TV series in 2018 filmed a typical week in the life of St Kevins Arcade.

Is there a website for this arcade?

Yes a nice little website, with up-to-date news on current tenants, and a potted history. Link to the website here.