The army arrived in Napier recently - the Deco Army.
About 50 volunteers, including Art Deco Trust staff and walk guides, assembled at lower Tennyson St ready for the push toward upper Tennyson St.
Their mission - to shift their HQ.
"It was a manic two days," was how Art Deco Trust manager Sally Jackson described the shift from the old Central Fire Station building into the new corner site just off the Marine Parade at the intersection with Herschell St.
Mrs Jackson said the Gemco contractors who renovated the building inside and out had "worked like machines" to meet the September 17 moving date.
"They did such a great job for us," Mrs Jackson said.
She also paid tribute to Conroy Removals, which donated a shifting truck and two crew members.
The trust made the move because the lease on the old site was running out and the needs of customers were changing, Mrs Jackson said.
She described the new site as perfect and said it had already proven itself.
"Tourists, and people in general, tend to migrate toward this area and we have had more foot traffic through in just four days than we would have had where we used to be," Mrs Jackson said.
The combination of the refurbished Masonic and the emerging Hawke's Bay Museum as neighbours "couldn't be better", she said.
The new site features a larger shop area with views toward the Sound Shell colonnade and a combination of natural and subtle globe lighting. Polished timbers, tiles, glasswork and a ceiling of plastered patterns Mrs Jackson described as "simply stunning" had drawn a stream of complimentary comments from visitors.
Local people had donated fine old cabinets and tables which are used to display the shop's growing range of Art Deco stock. A toy section had already proven popular with young visitors.
One main cinema would be bolstered by a second at the height of the tourist and cruise ship season.
While the main shift had been successfully carried out there were still a few things to wrap up.
One was the redesign of the trust's website to incorporate the new venue and the second was finding a name for the glamorous mannequin who greets those who step inside.
"She is a stunner and a bit of fun and we welcome name suggestions."