The Occidental, Vulcan Lane


One of Auckland's oldest pubs, built around 1870 on the corner of Vulcan Lane and Queen Street. At some stage an Art Deco building was built in front obscuring part of it's curving facade. From what I can find it was built by an American sailor and modelled on San Francisco's Occidental Hotel. It also housed a museum of 'absorbing interesting specimens of the pictorial art, defunct wonders and comical conceits'
According to the Historic Places trust the 'establishment was very popular with merchants, traders, speculators, artists, litterateurs, sportsmen and even 'the loafer''. I frequented it in the 80's when it was a hangout for students and punks, and today you're likely to join business people and tourists at the bar for one of the many Belgian beers on offer.


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