While it was a popular dance venue a change in liquor laws meant Top Hat no longer had an open-late edge on hotels, and patronage declined.
Bernie Meredith reinvented the Top Hat in 1968, calling it the MV (musical vessel) Top Hat with a nautical theme.
It was sold to Auckland entertainment entrepreneur Phil Warren of Auckland who renamed it the Silver Spade and it later became a nightclub called Bananas.
Now the freehold land and tenanted building is for sale by auction on March 8.
The 1430sq m two-storey building sits on 911sq m of land zoned inner city commercial. The three retail shops in the building generate an annual income of $75,855.
Turkish kebab takeaway operator Cafe Anatolia has a lease expiring in 2019, with one four-year right of renewal, generating $49,000.
The Kiwi Mancave collectibles and memorabilia trader's lease expires in 2020, with two further two-year rights of renewal, generating $16,855.
Sitting atop the former dance floor, model train showroom Trainworld operates on a month-to-month lease generating $10,000 from its upstairs venue.
The building is constructed of concrete pad foundations, steel reinforced concrete cavity perimeter walls, and a lightweight trussed roof. Documentation shows some strengthening immediately after the 1931 earthquake, with reinforced concrete installed and the facade rebuilt.
Bayleys agent Paul Dixon said a structural strengthening plan was completed for the upper level of building and available to potential purchasers. The ground floor structure required no remedial improvement.
He said the building, with a highly-decorative spanish mission facade, enjoyed a high foot-traffic count.
"Other businesses in the immediate vicinity include a web of cafes and restaurants adjacent to professional services companies and boutique retailers.
"Customers to all of these retailers and offices have handy access to the Dickens St carpark," Mr Dixon said.
"Within 88-94 Dickens St, Cafe Anatolia has been serving up kebabs, burgers and fries since 2007, which is an impressive record for a fast-food retailer.
"Trainworld has likewise been a tenant since the early 2000s and is renown for its grand concrete stairwell leading up from the street entrance.
"The vast network of nearly 4km of model railways tracks, miniature locomotive engines and carriages, and hand-made landscapes upstairs is among the largest display of its type in New Zealand, and is one of the must-see tourist attractions in Hawke's Bay."
Bayleys agent Sam MacDonald said there was potential, subject to Napier City Council consent, to add value to the property by developing the upper level of about 600sq m into apartments or commercial offices.