Cuba Street, Wellington

Story

Cuba Street is one of the most prominent streets in Wellington, New Zealand. The section between Dixon Street and Ghuznee Street is a pedestrian mall.Despite the number of older buildings in the street, there was little building damage from the 2016 Kaikoura earthquake.Location and originNamed after an early settler ship to New Zealand, the Cuba, it is to the south of the CBD, but still in the inner city. Cuba Street was once the route of the Wellington trams. Following the removal of the rails, the middle section of the street was closed to traffic in 1969, and is now a pedestrian mall and is one of the busiest areas of pedestrian activity in Wellington. Since 1995, Cuba Street has been a registered Historic Area under the Historic Places Act 1993, with numerous buildings being of historic significance, the Bank of New Zealand building being one of those.Literary HistoryMary Taylor, lifelong friend and correspondent of author Charlotte Brontë owned and ran a small Cuba Street general store, circa 1840-1860. The shop no longer exists but a heritage storyboard at the intersection of Cuba and Dixon streets commemorates her.Local people and activitiesIt is one of the more bohemian areas of Wellington, and is the home to an eclectic collection of cafes, op-shops, boutique, small fashion stores, art galleries, and music shops. It is the centre of one of the four 'quarters' of downtown Wellington, the Cuba Quarter (the others being centred on Lambton Quay, Courtenay Place and Willis Street). The northern end is more commercial, with an abundance of retail stores, cafes and restaurants. While the southern end (known as the 'top' of Cuba Street, or upper Cuba) is more sparsely occupied but has seen a revival in recent years. In the mid 70's to early 80's, "Mid Cuba" or Vivian Street (which crosses Cuba St) was Wellington's notorious Red light district, where prostitutes would loiter, strip clubs, peep shows and gay bars sat side by side. In recent years, remnants of the red light district are still visible, but sparse.