All new

Three or four years ago, 'the powers that be' decided to close a block of downtown Auckland, which happened to be directly across from Britomart, and knock a bunch of it down. I had thought that it was a very nice area as it was. The shops didn't look old or worn and they seemed to be doing good business, so I wondered, "Why mess with it?"  

Time passed...

Recently, it all opened again. They radically changed the area.  A large public square featuring a fountain of both water and flame, to which Jeanne and I had sometimes brought purchased lunches to eat as we watched the crowds go by, was gone. It had been swallowed up by a new building that featured four levels of shops and lots of restaurants. The area extends through the entire block. It was a massive rebuilding.  

Just after the first Covid lockdown was lifted here, I decided to explore this new warren of investments. This post will show you some pictures I took there. It's very nice. Impressive even. There were crowds of people and money was being spent. This is a new and glitzy enterprise and the prices were commensurate.  

I got to thinking about it. I just learned that about 270,000 people visit Auckland annually on cruise ships. This new venture is located directly across the street from the wharves where these ships tie up. Talk about location, location, location. This will be the first thing tourists see after they cross the street. What a gold mine.  

It's a shame that just as it was ready to open, Covid cycloned across the globe and anchored the cruise ships. I hope that local customers are sufficient to keep these businesses afloat until the world's pleasure flotillas can sail once more.  

Most of the diners I saw when I visited seemed to the business types. I also saw a few older folks who were, like me, wandering the many corridors between the retailers. While I didn't see any of them actually shake their heads in amazement at the transformation that had taken place, I could tell from their expressions that they weren't far from doing so. Like me, they were thinking that while this was certainly impressive, they'd probably rather do lunch elsewhere, where the prices would be lower and the portions larger. (I just can't see me standing at the oyster bar and knocking them back at $4 -$5 per shell.)

I did enjoy myself here though. I think I'd like to bring Jeanne here when her knees will once more allow her this much freedom. A cup of coffee and a scone would be nice and even in these surroundings, wouldn't break the bank. Take a look.                                

That's the Ferry Building across the street. That is 'tourist central' for downtown Auckland.  The cruise ships lie just beyond it. (when they're here) 

Beyond the windows, you can see Britomart. Up until recently, walls surrounded the 100 foot deep excavation in front of it. This was to allow the construction of a new underground rail line. I don't suppose it will be too long and the finishing touches to the the surface will be complete. I'll have to come back for some more pictures.     

As I finished this post, I sat back, read through it again and looked at the pictures. I thought about my impressions of the space inside this colossal structure.  The corridors head off from the central hub in all directions. As you wander, you're given numerous opportunities to criss-cross other passages and head off in yet other directions.  (I eventually found myself on an escalator to the roof.)  It reminded me, I realized of a Menger Cube, aka Menger Sponge.  

A Menger Cube can be described mathematically. But not by me. I also understand that it is a fractal. But again, I'll pass on explaining.   

To me, the Menger Cube looks like a giant cube, with other, smaller cubes cut out of the first one in a precise arrangement. And then more, and smaller cubes cut out of the remaining cube, and more and smaller and more and smaller and more, to infinity.  I could try to describe it all day, but if you watch this video, you'll get the idea.       -djf

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d-dI_pu_Z0g