History - Art Deco Trust

Art Deco Trust History

The Art Deco Trust was formed in February 1985 in order to promote the newly published "Take a Walk Through Art Deco Napier" leaflet which had been funded by the Hawke's Bay Museum, the Ministry of Works & Development and the Napier City Council. In June 1985 it organised the premiere of Peter Wells' television film "Newest City On The Globe". On a fine winter Sunday afternoon, a crowd of 1100 people turned out to walk the streets of Napier and view its buildings, before viewing the film in a 340-seat theatre. The public's enthusiasm encouraged those involved to continue working for the preservation, enhancement and promotion of Napier's unique architecture, constructed after the Earthquake of 1931.
The Trust was legally incorporated in 1987. In 1992, with support from the Napier City Council, the Trust became a full-time operation with a salaried Executive Director and its own premises and shop (above) at Desco Centre, once Napier's Central Fire Station in Tennyson Street, Napier. Today the Trust occupies a hugely increased space at the renamed Deco Centre and employs a full-time staff of four, assisted by over 100 dedicated volunteers. In 2003/04, an estimated 33,000 people took an Art Deco Walk, 17.000 of them on guided walks led by the Trust's volunteer walk guides. In 2005, after operating for 20 years, the Trust's turnover exceeded $1 Million.