5 Best Sights in East Coast and the Volcanic Zone, New Zealand

One of Napier's more notable buildings is at the corner of Hastings and Emerson streets. The Māori theme on the lintels is probably the country's finest example of kowhaiwhai (rafter) patterns decorating a European building. The traditional red, white, and black pattern is also continued inside around a coffered ceiling.

Hildebrandt's has an excellent frieze, which is best viewed from across Dalton Street. The original owner was a German who migrated to New Zealand—hence the German flag at one end, the New Zealand at the other; the wavy lines in the middle symbolize the sea passage between the two countries.

On Tennyson and Hastings, this was the first building to rise after the earthquake. Its steel metal frame was riveted, not welded, so that the construction noise would give residents the message that the city was being rebuilt. The bronze storefronts with their "crown of thorns" patterned leaded glass are original.

A little over a kilometer (½ mile) north of the central core stands one of the area's finest deco edifices. The 1932 structure has been totally renovated and its original name reinstated: the National Tobacco Company Building. It has a rose theme on the stained-glass windows and on a magnificent glass dome over the entrance hall.

One of the largest Māori marae (meetinghouses) in New Zealand has an intriguing interior with complex traditional carvings. One example is the tekoteko, a kneeling human figure with the right hand raised to challenge those who enter. There are also unusual alcoves and a stage framed by carvings; it's essentially a meetinghouse within a meetinghouse. Photography is not allowed inside. On the side of the hill stands the 1930s Toko Toro Tapu Church. You'll need permission to explore either site; contact the Gisborne isite Visitor Information Centre or the marae.