Hotel Waterloo, Wellington

If you look at the sign above the corner entrance, you'll see that this is the Wellington Downtown Backpackers but in a former life it was the Hotel Waterloo. You can still see the old name on the façade of the building.

The hotel was designed by Atkins & Mitchell and built for New Zealand Breweries in 1937.

By the 1980s the hotel had fallen into decline and by the end of the decade had closed down. Thankfully the closure didn't last too long and in the early 1990s it was reopened as a backpacker's hostel. No doubt its location opposite the Central Railway Station helped in this regard.

Reference:
Art Deco Heritage Trail booklet, Wellington City Council 1996 (2nd Ed. 2005)