Shops we love: Parsons

File under: retail, architecture, history, Wellington

It's often said that there are few independent shops left on Lambton Quay, with the chain stores having driven them all out. Parsons Books and Music is an exception, a family business that maintains its own identity.

It's a great little bookshop, and the first port of call for anyone who's serious about classical music, but it's much more than that. It's also a vital part of our architectural and intellectual history, bringing together the stories of three immigrants who helped Wellington start on its slow and painful journey from drab introspective conformity to cosmpolitan vitality.

Roy Parsons, an Englishman with a commitment to progressive politics and intellectual debate, began selling books in Lambton Quay in 1947. Since 1958, the shop has been housed on the ground floor of Massey House, often considered Ernst Plischke's most important New Zealand building. While its original proportions have been distorted by a later addition towards the south (above the Dog and Bone), and it's hard to imagine now what an impact this glass skyscraper had when it was first built, Massey House retains a cool elegance and an urbane street presence. For more on Plischke, see Douglas Lloyd Jenkins' article for the Listener or Greg O'Brien's article for the Historic Places Trust.

At the top of the staircase (part of Plischke's original design) there is a small café that has also changed little from its original 1957 appearance). This café was started by Harry Seresin, a pioneering restaurateur and co-founder of Downstage Theatre. At 2pm next Saturday (the 8th of October), as part of Wellington Architecture Week, there will be a discussion here to explore the contribution that Seresin made towards Wellington's intellectual, cultural and political life.