With tens of thousands of people making their way to Napier's annual celebration of all things "art deco" this week, we've taken a look at how the city has changed since its rebirth following the 1931 Hawke's Bay earthquake.

Walk around the city today and you'll see a jumble of architectural styles.

But it wasn't always like this, and if you stand in some places and look the right way, your view will be much the same as if you'd been standing on the same spot 80 years ago.



The vintage cars, Fedora hats, overcoats, and flapper dresses have been replaced by contemporary – some would say less flamboyant – equivalents.

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The buildings that were once at the forefront of modern architecture, at least as far as New Zealand was concerned, came under threat between the 1960s and 1980s, with some of the finest examples succumbing to the wrecking ball.



Sadly, they tended to be replaced by utilitarian structures that offered little to admire.



Today, thanks to the Hawke's Bay MTG (museum, theatre, gallery), as well as the Alexander Turnbull Library, we're able to show you how the city looked in the years immediately after the construction boom that followed the devastating earthquake that claimed 253 lives on February 3, 1931.

Local historian Michael Fowler points out that although the city is renown as an art deco mecca, the rebuild actually involved three styles: art deco, stripped classical, and Spanish mission.

Parts of Napier, like the sound shell on Marine Parade, have changed little since the building boom after the 1931 Hawke's Bay earthquake

"Hastings also suffered a similar fate to Napier, and it too was rebuilt in the popular architectural styles of the time.



"The difference was that Napier, as effectively the capital city of Hawke's Bay, had more government offices and branches of national firms, which resulted in grander examples of art deco than Hastings.



"The art deco style of building, as it later became known in the 1960s, was not unique to Napier or Hawke's Bay, but the total rebuild enabled a consistent style of architecture throughout the CBD," Fowler said.

The city's art deco festival was first held in 1988 when it involved about four events, five vintage cars, and a dozen people having a Gatsby Picnic on a stage in the Municipal Theatre.

Last year's four-day festival attracted more than 38,000 visitors and injected an estimated $11 million into the Hawke's Bay economy.

This year's event begins on Wednesday and runs until Sunday.

MTG is marking the occasion this year with an exhibition of pieces by René Lalique, the most celebrated glass maker of the art deco period.