Below are excerpts from the Sun Newspaper, 21st December 1929

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Gorgeous Decorations made in Auckland

The wonderful fibrous plaster work at  the Civic evoke the ready admiration of everyone who goes inside the door of this beautiful theatre. The whole of this work, both interior ornamentation and the decorative work on the exterior elevations was made and fixed by  Mr L Bater of  Wellington St, and his expert staff. The contract was commenced July last, and the employment of over 100 men, continually working resulted in record time, of the largest amount of fibrous plastering in a single building in New Zealand.

 

The Stamp of splendid workmanship is evident on all the work, and the variations to suit features of Budddas, Elephants, Panthers, Horses, Eagle's Wings etc, display a high degree of artistic taste and appreciation. Great skill was required to carry out this work in miniumn time.....

 

Arnold Zimmerman was In charge of the decorative staff, and responsible for the artistic development of the fibrous plaster work at the Civic Theatre.  Arnold was born in Switzerland and arrived in Australia in 1923. He carried on business as an art decorator and scenic artist in Sydney. His decorative schemes for theatres in Australia included the State Theatre and Capitol Theatre's in Sydney, the State Theatre in Melbourne and the Ambassador Theatre in Perth.

 

Tiling by Lamont