Naval and Family stands on the West corner of the intersection of Karangahape Road, Pitt Street and Mercury Lane. This building/land was first “owned” by Thomas Henry, a baker and have received the location as a subsidised lance from the Crown. It was then sold to a solicitor Thomas Russe, and then sold to Patrick Darby from Coromandel. Darby was a hotelier and went on to license the building as Naval Hotel to George Pearson in 1862. Naval Hotel was the first hotel on Karangahape Road and accommodated travellers passing through to Great North Road.
It was also the first establishment to hold a license for liquor as then others followed. There were disagreement from the surrounding residence and those associated with the Church who were concerned this could promote drinking culture and derange the order in the area.
(leading to the question of how pubs and tavern can be associated with the social activity and human interaction, leading to the thrive of culture?)
Another hotel keeper acquired the property in 1882, Patrick Brodie from Coromandel who was a noted figure in the liquor industry and this marked the beginning of a long history between the building and the liquor industry.
The building was destroyed in 1894 in a fire and was rebuilt in February 1896. Architect, Arthur Wilson from London who moved to New Zealand in search for a new place to practice his work designed the building and with builder Thomas Julian.
After the reconstruction was completed, it was leased to the Ehrenfried Brothers, a brewer where they later merged with John Logan Campbell and went onto becoming the largest brewery enterprise in the country. Three years later the initial rebuilding, it received an alteration where they installed larger bar section to accommodate their needs. There was a trend on brewers buying hotels where it was one way to secure stable supply market of their product.
Brodie also was the office-holder in United Licensed Victuallers Association which was formed in 1902 when the country poll neared implementing national prohibition and enacted on preventing this regulation from being executed.
Naval and Family Hotel was leased to New Zealand Breweries in 1936 and they bought the property in 1962. The requirements to be a city hotel was to provide minimum 10 rooms for accommodation and as the building was altered and conversed into a more pub/tavern style to fit the need to function as a public house rather than a hotel, it ceased to be a hotel.
Now the property is being owned by Andy Davies since 2003. It was renovated and redecorated in 2011 for Calendar Girls to occupy the building until October 2021.
Encountering the Urban 
