Michael Fowler Centre

When Michael Fowler was elected to the Wellington City Council in 1968, one of his promises was to create a central venue for entertainment in place of the Town Hall. Securing funding was challenging and met with skepticism and opposition. Fowler’s first attempt saw him flying overseas seeking donations and meeting with multinationals, billionaires, and magnates such as Nelson Rockefeller and Adnan Khashoggi. When the $500,000 raised turned out to be empty promises, the project was declared a failure and a waste of ratepayers’ money. Fowler then turned to a civic lottery, and he was allegedly seen on the streets of Wellington selling tickets during his lunchbreaks. Despite numerous setbacks and ballooning costs, construction began in 1982. 

Impressed by the design of the Christchurch Town Hall, Fowler commissioned two architects, Miles Warren and Maurice Mahoney, to design a sizeable space for Wellington. Notably, Warren and Mahoney sought the help of two acousticians, Jerald R. Hyde from San Francisco, and Professor Harold Marshall of Auckland University, to design “Quadratic Residue Diffusers” to reflect and distribute sound equally throughout the room. This work was innovative for its time, and it is an early example of these sound reflectors being implemented on a large scale. Fulfilling the role of civic amenity, the auditorium was designed to offer clear views of the stage from every seat and with an adjustable stage.  

The interior is finished with native timbers and Italian marble, and the foyer is decorated with colourful fabric hangings designed by Wellington artist Gordon Cook. The Eastern side of the building includes a Totara Pou, carved by Rimutaka Prison inmates, called Te Pou Tauiwi.  

The exterior is equally impressive, boasting a three-level glass façade and a lighting system which reflects off the concrete panels of the building. In recent years this lighting system has been used to light up the exterior in honour of significant occasions: the birth of Prince George of Cambridge in 2013; in honour of the victims of the 2015 Paris attacks; to mark 125 years of women’s suffrage, and in honour of the victims of violence against transgender people in 2018; and was lit in rainbow colours for LGBTQ+ Pride in 2019. 

Although the Center was intended as a replacement for the Town Hall, Wellington City Council ultimately decided to retain the Town Hall and connect it to the Michael Fowler Center via a canopy bridge.  

The Center opened on 16 September 1983 with a “glittering ball” ceremony and a performance by the NZ Symphony Orchestra. The opening ceremony was filmed and can still be viewed on NZOnScreen. Despite all of the complications and setbacks in opening the Michael Fowler Center, it remains one of Wellington’s most celebrated, world-class venues.