Terrace or High Rise?

Suddenly tired today so I missed the morning run, partly because I thought I heard rain. Maybe I did, maybe I just wanted another hour in bed! With daylight saving still in force, plenty of time I think for an afternoon/evening run. BUT, today the rain hit Auckland. Will I run in the rain?

Decided that after six months without missing a day, I just had to go out. Fantastic! The rain stopped and I had a run with just a bit of light drizzle in the last five to ten minutes.
Good planning? or just good luck?

Different course, and therefore different things to be potential blip material. This appealed most of all. The Shangri La tower block contains "luxury apartments"; one per floor with expansive views over the Waitemata Harbour. Built (as I recall) in the late 1970s amidst huge controversy, as local residents were unhappy about the blot on the skyline (there is a second tower a little way to the east, out of shot to the right). At that time the Stichbury Terrace was rundown, and unloved.

It was built around 1915 as quality rental properties for James Stichbury, an Englishman who settled in New Zealand in 1861, went into business as an auctioneer and later became a city councillor for the Ponsonby ward.

By the early 1980s, the terraces were in major disrepair; squatters had moved in. The owners sold the building and an adjoining section to the Church of the Latter Day Saints. Earmarked for demolition, Stichbury Terrace was to be replaced by a 400-seat church and recreation hall. But the locals (including my lovely S and me) protested and the terrace was saved.

A local developer bought the terrace as a whole in 1981 and undertook extensive renovation, turning each home (four only) into quality accommodation, which were then highly sought after. Subsequently the Terrace has been declared a heritage building.

I particularly like this juxtaposition. Many years ago (knowing we could not afford to buy it) we attended an open home in Shangri La, about three floors from the top as I recall, and unless you stood at the balcony edge the view was of sky, not sea. That high is too high. The harbour view from the Terrace apartments is superb and of a human scale.

My apologies for the loss of verticality through using a very wide angle.