Higher Ground

Completed in 1913 and designed by Scottish émigré and Public Works Department draughtsman Claude Paton, the former Magistrates’ Court on Auckland’s Kitchener Street has been commended as a fine, if slightly playful, example of Edwardian baroque. Striation and rustication adorn its façade and there are expressive voussoirs with enlarged keystones above the windows. It isn’t shy of ornament, yet its colour palette and symmetry keep it firmly within the realm of restrained and sober classicism.

Although Paton adhered to many of those stylistic standards, he experimented by skewing some proportions and using local materials