The town that rose like a phoenix from the ashes

Rothmans building, Napier. Picture / Hawkes Bay Today

Should you be in Napier on a certain weekend any February or July, you could believe that you'd entered a time machine and had been whisked back 70-something years.

Out of the rubble that was the town centre after a major earthquake in 1931 has grown a unique tourist attraction: a city of Art Deco architecture and twice-yearly, back-to-the-1930s festivities.

The town almost died at 10.46am on Tuesday, February 3, 1931, when it was struck by a 2 1/2-minute earthquake, measuring 7.8 on the Richter scale, killing 256 people in the Napier area.

Buildings were levelled, and some areas were raised as much as 2m; more than 4000ha of seabed became land.

Napier's now-famous Art Deco reputation grew from the massive rebuilding of the city through the next decade, in the depths of the Depression, when townspeople bravely rebuilt in the styles then fashionable overseas - mainly Art Deco. Art Deco, the decorative, international architectural style of the 1930s, symbolised the spirit of the time. And Napier's new beginning would reflect the glamour, glitz and style of the 1930s.

Some 50 years later, it would give birth to a new industry: tourism.

Napier claims to have the world's most concentrated collection of Art Deco buildings (and other styles, such as Spanish Mission and Stripped Classical). Around 100 such buildings are packed into a colourful half dozen city blocks.

The earthquake is now a cause for celebration rather than sorrow.

Today, Napier celebrates its past year-round with twice-daily, escorted Art Deco walks ($10 or $15) for visitors who enjoy buildings and who can imagine the razzmatazz of the bygone flapper era.

The Daily Telegraph building - no longer housing a newspaper but a real estate agent - is Napier's most flam-buoyant Art Deco building. It exhibits classic Art Deco elements: zigzags, fountain shapes, ziggurats and sunburst.

Twice a year locals, joined by thousands of visitors, kick up their heels in 1930s celebrations. In February the whole town dresses up in 1920s and 1930s costume for a four-day programme. Vintage cars cruise the streets, and biplanes swoop over the city. Among dozens of events are a Gatsby family picnic, silent movies, a seaside ball and street jazz.

In July the city decks out in 1930s dress and parties. In an event smaller than the February funfest, locals and visitors enjoy a range of activities from a Beggars' Ball to a Winter Whoopee,a progressive dinner with a good oldsing-along.