Turnbull House

Turnbull House is a historic building in Wellington, New Zealand. It was built in 1915 as the residence of Alexander Turnbull and to house his private library, later bequeathed to New Zealand as the Alexander Turnbull Library. It is listed by Heritage New Zealand as a Category 1 historic place.[1]

Turnbull House
General information
Location41.27910°S 174.77646°E / -41.27910; 174.77646
Address25–27 Bowen Street
Town or cityWellington
CountryNew Zealand
Named forAlexander Turnbull
OwnerDepartment of Conservation
Design and construction
ArchitectWilliam Turnbull
Designated25-Nov-1982
Reference no.232

History

The House's architecture is a mix of Queen Anne and Scottish baronial architecture and was designed by architect William Turnbull (no relation). The building's design incorporated three large library rooms to house Turnbull's large collection of books, maps, and documents.[2] The outbreak of World War I delayed construction of the house until late 1915. After Turnbull's death in 1918, the house was purchased by the government in 1920 and opened to the public as the Alexander Turnbull Library. The library stayed in the building until 1973 when the collection was incorporated into the National Library of New Zealand.[3]

After many years as a meeting and conference venue, the building was closed to the public in 2012 due to earthquake risk.[4] Investigations have taken longer than expected but strengthening work is intended to be completed before a 2023 deadline.[5]

References
  1. "Turnbull House". Register of Historic Places. Heritage New Zealand. Retrieved 28 January 2016.
  2. "The collectors: Grey, Turnbull and Hocken". New Zealand History. New Zealand Ministry for Culture and Heritage. Retrieved 31 August 2019.
  3. "Places to Visit: Turnbull House". Heritage New Zealand. Retrieved 31 August 2019.
  4. "Turnbull House, earthquake prone, to close for strengthening" (Press release). Department of Conservation. Wellington.Scoop. 24 August 2012. Retrieved 3 September 2019.
  5. Williams, Katarina (5 April 2018). "Geotechnical testing to be carried out on Wellington's Turnbull House". Dominion Post. Retrieved 3 September 2019.
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