Bus Stop on Clyde Street

flatnames — Mon, 23 Sep 2019 06:00:18 +0000

27 Steps to Heaven

flatnames — Thu, 15 Feb 2018 00:15:03 +0000

Purported to have been a brothel, this name of this flat instead refers to its proximity to the pub across the road. This flat is an excellent example of how the meaning of named flats can morph and change over time. Once famously known as the Ori, (The Oriental Tavern) is currently known as Starters Bar. The Ori was well known as a student bar for several decades and in the 1980s and 1990s was a popular band venue. Historic venue details for the bar https://www.dunedinmusic.com/venues/40

The original flat sign (2007) painted black with white lettering and detail, depicts 27 askew foot steps leading from a smaller sign THE ORI, implying a drunken pathway home.

27 Steps to Heaven (2007)

//embedr.flickr.com/assets/client-code.js

A later sign depicts heavenly cloud forms and opening golden gates, but no reflection of the origin of the name or connection to the pub across the road.

27 Steps to Heaven (2009)

This photo (2016) from the Prime Campus account appears to have been taken from Starters Bar.

View this post on Instagram

27 Steps to Heaven, 1 Clyde Street, Dunedin #universityofotago#dunedin #scarfies #studentflats #primecampus

A post shared by Prime Campus (@primecampus) on Jun 27, 2016 at 2:10pm PDT

This artwork commissioned by Prime Campus for the flat, certainly plays on the aspect of the pearly gates.

View this post on Instagram

]]]>
Hilton on Clyde, Clyde Street (2007)

Sprayed using a stencil on a couple of pieces of board, this sign utlises the Hilton Hotels logo (below) as inspiration. The name is indicative of many similar names that are reflective of the physical environment students find themselves living in. Some names clearly point out the deficits of these homes while others bestow lofty or ironic names on the flats that contrast starkly with the poor state of the building. Being a prestigious international hotel chain, clearly this flat can not compare, the use of the name and logo is ironic.

Hilton logo this image is reproduced under fair use terms as part of the discussion about named flats in Dunedin, specifically to compare the company logo with a named student flat using that logo.

Later iterations of the Hilton sign (2008) include one that utlises a single bedhead as the basis of the sign but the Hilton logo is no longer evoked. The house features in Villa by Patrick Reynolds and Jeremy Salmon (2012).

The Hilton, Clyde Street (2008)

//embedr.flickr.com/assets/client-code.js

The Hilton features in Ghetto flats in Dunedin by Justin Hawkes (2003). He directed this for a New Zealand TV Show Space.

The names students bestow their flats with are often full of wit and humour. The sign for Bedrock is made using a single bedhead. The name may be related to the popular cartoon series The Flintstones where Bedrock is the prehistoric city where the Flintstone and Rubble families live. The name may also refer to beds rocking due to sexual activity. The use of a bedhead as the board for the sign implies this may be the case. Its not often that the name of the flat and the sign riff off each other to add another layer of meaning.

Bedrock, Clyde Street (2008)

The Bang Box on Clyde Street

flatnames — Fri, 18 Mar 2016 01:48:25 +0000

On a street that was once a destination for a multitude of named flats (Moes, Tui, Bedrock, The Hilton), The Drunken Clam of Family Guy fame, is looking a little worn and water logged at present.

View this post on Instagram

A day in the life of Victoria continues. I parked my car outside this #studentflat When I went back to my car I was greeted by these#otagouniversity#students recovering from orientation and the rugby last night. They happen to live in a#house called ]]]>
The Westie Pad was one of the first sponsored flats in Dunedin. It is rented by Westpac Bank and sublet to the group of students who win a set of challenges for the right to live rent free for a year. Despite competition being a bit thin on the ground sometimes, there have been winners.

Entries for Westie Pad comp close 12pm today! Tertiary students in Dunedin… what are you waiting for? http://t.co/6lwztP4

— Westpac (@WestpacNZ) August 29, 2011

Dunedin doesnt have a Westie culture as such. However with over 80% of students coming to Dunedin to study, this flat may appeal particularly to those from further north; or those who were devotees of the TVNZ show, Outrageous Fortune based in West Auckland which was popular earlier in the decade.

Heres an entry video created by contestants from 2013.

References:
Westie Pad construction photos from the Student Pac Facebook Page

Clyde Street – Online Casino Real Money NZ

Bus Stop on Clyde Street

27 Steps to Heaven

The Bang Box on Clyde Street