Napier's central city is an almost intact collection of 1930s Art Deco buildings, built after the 1931 earthquake flattened the old town. The main streets — Emerson Street, Dalton Street, Tennyson Street — are lined with buildings in Spanish Mission and Art Deco styles: clean geometric lines, sunburst motifs, decorative friezes, and distinctive pastel facades. No other city in the world has such a concentrated and coherent collection.
The Art Deco Centre on Tennyson Street provides self-guided walk maps and runs guided walking tours that add context about the earthquake and the rebuilding effort. The self-guided walk takes about 90 minutes and is well marked. The guided tours are worth the extra cost if you want the stories behind individual buildings.