Second Most Beautiful McDonald's in the World

Yesterday I wrote about the most beautiful McDonald's in the world so today I thought I would show you the second most beautiful.

It is in Taradale, New Zealand and it is one of only two Art Deco McDonald's that I know of.

Like Clifton Hill, it was originally a pub, the Taradale Hotel.

The hotel originally openned in 1869 as the Duke of Edinburgh but was destroyed by fire in 1904. Rebuilt, it suffered a worse fate in the 1931 earthquake which devastated the Hawke's Bay area. Like many buildings in nearby Napier and Hastings, the pub was again rebuilt, this time in the style of the times, Art Deco.

In 1997, McDonald's were persuaded by the Art Deco Trust to retain the building and convert it to a restaurant rather than demolish it.

I believe one of the arguments used to persuade McDonald's was the fact that the building is included in Art Deco Napier: Styles of the thirtiesa very popular book by Peter Shaw & Peter Hallett which has undergone several reprints.

Did McDonald's want a picture of the old pub with a caption describing its demise or a picture their new Taradale restaurant. Sometimes the commercial argument is the clincher when trying to preserve and reuse older buildings.

Inside some of the deco features have survived including the cornice and this wonderful ceiling decoration (shown above).