History
286 Willis Street Relocation Preparation - 10 February 2005
A string of chemists first traded out of the Edwardian corner shop, now known as the former Bar Bodega, on the corner of Willis and Abel Smith Streets.
Heritage inventories at the Wellington City Council Library show that Bodega was built around 1890 and first occupied by chemist Robert Burn in 1894. Successive chemists used the premises to ply their trade until the early 1920's.
A variety of small businesses, including fruiterers and tobacconists, used the premises from the 1920s until 1937, while the upstairs accommodation was divided into small flats.
286 Willis Street Relocation Preparation - 10 May 2005
In 1937, John Lindberg converted the ground floor into a butchery and it remained in that usage off-and-on for 54 years. It is probably during this conversion that the tiled mural was installed on the building's façade. This mural is being conserved and will be reinstated as part of the shop's restoration. Among butcheries in the building were Boyd's Quality Butchers and McKnight Meats.
The National Roads Board (now Transit New Zealand) acquired ownership in 1981 for roading purposes. A decade later, Fraser McInnes leased the building and opened a popular café/bar and live performance venue - Bodega. This business has now shifted to new premises in Ghuznee Street.
The heritage inventory shows Bodega as a rusticated weatherboard building with an authentic bull-nosed veranda, cast iron posts wrapping around the corner and a prominent parapet. It describes the shop as having "large representative significance as a typical small retail building of its period".
The rear of the shop, added on in the 1990's, was demolished in March 2005 to prepare the original building for relocation. Once restored, the shop will again be available for use.
286 Willis Street New Foundations - 20 May 2005
New Location
40 metres north along Willis St, with 282 and 284 Willis St buildings.
New Address
278 Willis Street.
New Colours
Nelson Red
Sand
Earth Green
Construction Update
8 June 2005 – Relocated
May 2006 – Restoration commences
