MLC Building, Auckland

The MLC Building is a heritage-listed building in Auckland, New Zealand. Located at 380 Queen Street, on the corner of Queen and Airedale Streets, opposite the Auckland Town Hall, the Art Deco building was completed in 1956, at which time it was the tallest building in Auckland.

Design and construction

The building was designed by Mitchell & Mitchell architects and constructed by Fletcher Construction. Work on the building started in May 1954, and it was opened in December 1956 by then mayor of Auckland, Thomas Ashby. At the time of construction, it was the tallest building in Auckland.
The ground floor frontage was faced with Balmoral granite veneer supplied by the New Zealand Marble Company, and sculpted granite and terracotta panels appeared over street entrances and on the tower of the building. Lift halls and main corridors were panelled with Queensland maple veneer, with a marble entrance lobby.

Later use

In 1999, the building was converted into a hotel and apartment complex and has since been managed by Scenic Hotel Group as the Legacy Airedale Hotel.

Heritage listing

The building is listed as a Category 2 Historic Place by Heritage New Zealand. It is very similar in design to the Mutual Life & Citizens Assurance Company Building in Wellington, completed in 1940. A smaller version of the MLC building, also designed by Mitchell & Mitchell and constructed by Fletcher Construction, was built at 14 Garden Place, Hamilton, in 1957.