1.
Wellington
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Wellington is the capital and second most populous urban area of New Zealand, with 405,000 residents. It is at the tip of the North Island, between Cook Strait and the Rimutaka Range. Wellington is the population centre of the southern North Island and is the administrative centre of the Wellington Region. It is the worlds windiest city, with a wind speed of over 26 km/h. Situated near the centre of the country, Wellington was well placed for trade. In 1839 it was chosen as the first major planned settlement for British immigrants coming to New Zealand, the settlement was named in honour of the Arthur Wellesley, the first Duke of Wellington and victor of the Battle of Waterloo. As the nations capital since 1865, the New Zealand Government and Parliament, Supreme Court, despite being much smaller than Auckland, Wellington is also referred to as New Zealands cultural capital. The city is home to the National Archives, the National Library, architectural sights include the Government Building—one of the largest wooden buildings in the world—as well as the iconic Beehive. Wellington plays host to artistic and cultural organisations, including the New Zealand Symphony Orchestra. It has an urban culture, with many cafés, restaurants. One of the worlds most liveable cities, the 2014 Mercer Quality of Living Survey ranked Wellington 12th in the world, Wellingtons economy is primarily service-based, with an emphasis on finance, business services, and government. It is the centre of New Zealands film and special effects industries, Wellington ranks as one of New Zealands chief seaports and serves both domestic and international shipping. The city is served by Wellington International Airport, the third busiest airport in the country, Wellingtons transport network includes train and bus lines which reach as far as the Kapiti Coast and Wairarapa, and ferries connect the city to the South Island. Wellington takes its name from Arthur Wellesley, the first Duke of Wellington and victor of the Battle of Waterloo, his title comes from the town of Wellington in the English county of Somerset. One of the founders of the settlement, Edward Jerningham Wakefield, reported that the settlers took up the views of the directors with great cordiality, in Māori, Wellington has three names. In New Zealand Sign Language, the name is signed by raising the index, middle and ring fingers of one hand, palm forward, to form a W, and shaking it slightly from side to side twice. The citys location close to the mouth of the narrow Cook Strait leads to its vulnerability to strong gales, legends recount that Kupe discovered and explored the district in about the 10th century. The earliest date with hard evidence for Maori living in New Zealand is about 1280, European settlement began with the arrival of an advance party of the New Zealand Company on the ship Tory on 20 September 1839, followed by 150 settlers on the Aurora on 22 January 1840
2.
Pedestrian zone
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Pedestrian zones are areas of a city or town reserved for pedestrian-only use and in which most or all automobile traffic may be prohibited. Converting a street or an area to use is called pedestrianisation. However, pedestrianisation can sometimes lead to reductions in business activity, property devaluation, in some cases traffic in surrounding areas may increase, due to displacement rather than substitution of car traffic. Pedestrian zones have a variety of approaches to human-powered vehicles such as bicycles, inline skates, skateboards. Some have a ban on anything with wheels, others ban certain categories, others segregate the human-powered wheels from foot traffic. Many Middle Eastern kasbahs have no wheeled traffic, but use donkey-driven or hand-driven carts for freight transport, the idea of separating pedestrians from wheeled traffic is an old one, dating back at least to the Renaissance. However, the earliest modern implementation of the idea in cities seems to date from about 1800, separated shopping arcades were constructed throughout Europe in the 19th century, precursors of modern shopping malls. The first pedestrianisation of an existing street seems to have taken place around 1929 in Essen and this was in a very narrow shopping street that could not accommodate both vehicular and pedestrian traffic. Two other German cities followed this model in the early 1930s, by 1955 twenty-one German cities had closed at least one street to traffic, although only four were true pedestrian streets, designed for the purpose. At this time pedestrianisation was not seen as a traffic restraint policy, pedestrianisation was also common in the United States during the 1950s and 60s as downtown businesses attempted to compete with new suburban shopping malls. However, most of these initiatives were not successful in the long term, a car-free zone is different from a typical pedestrian zone, in that it implies a development largely predicated on modes of transport other than the car. A pedestrian zone may be more limited in scope, for example a single square or street being for pedestrians. A number of towns and cities in Europe have never allowed motor vehicles, archetypal examples are, Venice, which occupies many islands in a lagoon, divided by and accessed from canals. The city has been car-free for more than three decades, motor traffic stops at the car park at the head of the viaduct from the mainland, and water transport or walking takes over from there. However, motor vehicles are allowed on the nearby Lido, mount Athos, an autonomous monastic state under the sovereignty of Greece, does not permit automobiles on its territory. Trucks and work-related vehicles only are in use there, the medieval city of Mdina in Malta does not allow automobiles past the city walls. It is known as the Silent City because of the absence of traffic in the city. Sark, an island in the English Channel, is a zone where only bicycles, carriages
3.
Central business district
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A central business district is the commercial and business centre of a city. In larger cities, it is synonymous with the citys financial district. Both the CBD and the city centre or downtown may also coincide with the central activities district, a citys CBD is usually typified by a concentration of retail and office buildings. The CBD usually has a density higher than the surrounding districts of the city. The CBD is often also the city centre or downtown, Mexico City also has a historic city centre, the colonial-era Centro Histórico, along with two CBDs, the mid-late 20th century Paseo de la Reforma - Polanco, and the new Santa Fe. The shape and type of a CBD almost always reflect the citys history. Cities with maximum building height restrictions often have a historic section quite apart from the financial. It has been said that downtowns are therefore distinct from both CBDs and city centres. CBDs usually have very small resident populations, for example, the population of the City of London declined from over 200,000 in the year 1700 to less than 10,000 today. In some instances, however, CBD populations are increasing as younger professional, the Buenos Aires Central Business District, is the main commercial centre of Buenos Aires, the capital of Argentina. The actual area was the point of first European settlement and its north-south axis runs from Monserrat in the south to Retiro railway station in the north. Its east-west axis runs from Buenos Aires Ecological Reserve and Puerto Madero, the district is the financial, commercial, and cultural hub of Argentina. Its port is one of the busiest in South America, navigable rivers by way of the Río de la Plata connect the port to northeast Argentina, Brazil, Uruguay, and Paraguay. As a result, it serves as the hub for a vast area of the southeastern region of the South American continent. Tax collection related to the port has caused political problems in the past. The Buenos Aires Human Development Index is likewise high by international standards, the term is used to refer to the business and financial area of a state capital city such as the Sydney CBD, Melbourne CBD, Brisbane CBD, Perth CBD and Adelaide CBD. The city centres of some cities, such as Townsville, Bendigo. More recently, in cities the city centre, which may or may not be distinct from the CBD, is increasingly separately identified
4.
Bank of New Zealand building, Wellington
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The Bank of New Zealand building is an historic building on the corner of Manners and Cuba Street, Wellington, New Zealand. The building, designed by William Turnbull, is one of Wellingtons earliest reinforced concrete and it features corinthian columns and ornate projecting cornice. It was refurbished in the early 1980s, the building, classified as a Category I historic place by the New Zealand Historic Places Trust, now houses a fast-food restaurant
5.
Bohemianism
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Bohemianism is the practice of an unconventional lifestyle, often in the company of like-minded people, with few permanent ties, involving musical, artistic, literary or spiritual pursuits. In this context, Bohemians may or may not be wanderers, adventurers, Bohemians were associated with unorthodox or anti-establishment political or social viewpoints, which often were expressed through free love, frugality, and—in some cases—voluntary poverty. A more economically privileged, wealthy, or even aristocratic bohemian circle is sometimes referred to as haute bohème, the term Bohemianism emerged in France in the early nineteenth century when artists and creators began to concentrate in the lower-rent, lower class, Romani neighborhoods. Literary Bohemians were associated in the French imagination with roving Romani people, outsiders apart from conventional society, the term carries a connotation of arcane enlightenment, and also carries a less frequently intended, pejorative connotation of carelessness about personal hygiene and marital fidelity. The title character in Carmen, a French opera set in the Spanish city of Seville, is referred to as a bohémienne in Meilhac and her signature aria declares love itself to be a gypsy child, going where it pleases and obeying no laws. Henri Murgers collection of short stories Scènes de la Vie de Bohème, published in 1845, was written to glorify, Murgers collection formed the basis of Giacomo Puccinis opera La bohème. In England, Bohemian in this sense initially was popularised in William Makepeace Thackerays novel, Vanity Fair, public perceptions of the alternative lifestyles supposedly led by artists were further molded by George du Mauriers highly romanticized best-selling novel of Bohemian culture Trilby. The novel outlines the fortunes of three expatriate English artists, their Irish model, and two very colorful Central European musicians, in the artist quarter of Paris. In Spanish literature, the Bohemian impulse can be seen in Ramón del Valle-Incláns play Luces de Bohemia, in his song La Bohème, Charles Aznavour described the Bohemian lifestyle in Montmartre. Also reflects the Bohemian lifestyle in Montmartre at the turn of the 20th century, in the 1850s, aesthetic bohemians began to arrive in the United States. In New York City in 1857, a group of some 15–20 young and this group gathered at a German bar on Broadway called Pffaffs beer cellar. Members included their leader Henry Clapp, Jr, walt Whitman, Fitz Hugh Ludlow, and actress Adah Isaacs Menken. Similar groups in cities were broken up as well by the Civil War. During the war, correspondents began to assume the title bohemian, Bohemian became synonymous with newspaper writer. Mark Twain included himself and Charles Warren Stoddard in the category in 1867. Club member and poet George Sterling responded to this redefinition, Any good mixer of convivial habits considers he has a right to be called a bohemian, but that is not a valid claim. There are two elements, at least, that are essential to Bohemianism, the first is devotion or addiction to one or more of the Seven Arts, the other is poverty. Despite his views, Sterling associated very closely with the Bohemian Club, canadian composer Oscar Ferdinand Telgmann and poet George Frederick Cameron wrote the song The Bohemian in the 1889 opera Leo, the Royal Cadet
6.
Lambton Quay
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Lambton Quay is the heart of the central business district of Wellington, the capital city of New Zealand. Originally, as the name implies, it was the line of the foreshore. It was the site of the settlement in 1840, which grew into Wellington. Land uplift caused by the 1855 Wairarapa earthquake and further reclamation have left the street some 250 metres from the current shoreline, Lambton Quay is named after John Lambton, 1st Earl of Durham, the first chairman of directors of the New Zealand Company. Lambton Quay, Willis Street and Courtenay Place form what is known locally as the Golden Mile, much of the citys retail trade is now centred a little further south around Manners Street and Cuba Street, but Lambton Quay remains a major commercial thoroughfare. It is also of significance, with the New Zealand Parliament Buildings towards the northern end. The Wellington cenotaph is located at this end, next to Parliament. The Wellington Cable Car runs from Lambton Quay to the top of the Botanic Garden
7.
Courtenay Place, Wellington
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Courtenay Place is the main street of the Courtenay Quarter in the Wellington, New Zealand inner-city district of Te Aro. Courtenay Place is known for its entertainment and nightlife, many restaurants are open late and most of the bars stay open until dawn. It contains offices, accommodation, tourist shopping, entertainment, food, art, pedestrian traffic is substantial around the clock. The first building of any importance in Courtenay Place was built shortly after 1900 by local butcher and businessman and it is now a heritage listed building, originally designed by T S Lambert, situated on the eastern corner of Allen Street and Courtenay Place. Of brick construction, it originally had three stories and a cellar, with stables at the rear. It has since reduced to two stories, probably due to earthquake damage. In 2015, the floor and cellars accommodate a bar. Every two years Courtenay Place is home to many of the New Zealand International Arts Festival events, the richness of Courtenay Place culture inspires many artists, including photographers, professional and amateur alike. Bats Theatre is New Zealands leading venue for the development of new theatre practitioners, downstage Theatre, founded in 1964, is New Zealands first professional theatre. Embassy Theatre The Lord of the Rings movie The Return of the King had its premiere at the Embassy Theatre at the head of Courtenay Place. The movies The Two Towers and The Fellowship of the Ring both had their Australasian premiere at the Embassy, both events were broadcast live to the world for many hours, involving the movement of record amounts of data by CityLink. The theatre is on the Wellington City Councils heritage list in the District Plan, heritage New Zealand has recognised its heritage values with Category One registration, indicating a place of special or outstanding historical or cultural heritage significance or value. It was originally known as the De Luxe and was built in 1924, designed by Llewellyn Williams and constructed of reinforced concrete, it included classical external and internal architectural details. The name changed to the Embassy in 1945, a long list of theatre identities has been associated with the theatre, including William Kemball, who formed the De Luxe Theatre Company in 1923, and Sir Robert Kerridge. Kerry Robins, leaseholder of the Paramount Theatre in Wellington, took over the lease of the Embassy in 1996 and it was purchased by the Embassy Theatre Trust in 1997 with financial underwriting of the refurbishment programme by Wellington City Council. Ownership was transferred to the WCC under the terms of the agreement, the Paramount is the oldest surviving cinema in Wellington, still with its original name. Originally a part of Te Aro beach, in August 1916 the location of the Paramount was purchased by John James Williamson and he arranged for architect James Bennie to design a picture house. Reading Cinema Complex,100 Courtenay Place, the $23m complex contains shops, restaurants and a ten-screen multiplex cinema
