The walk continues along King Street, before turning right onto Hunter Street. This corner is known as Bank Corner, the acutely angled intersection occupied by a bank for over 100 years. The previous building stood for 50 years before being replaced by the one before you in 1940. Described as a simple modernised version of the Classical Traditional, the building has Art Deco influences in detail and decorative elements. Continuing along Hunter St, passing the Art School and Trades Hall. Opened in 1896, locals enrolled here to learn trades and skills, from freehand drawing to steam engine maintenance. Designed by W.E. Kemp, who designed the Sydney Technical College in Ultimo. Federation Romanesque in style, the College’s frame is constructed from Red Cedar. The building is asymmetrical, with the right side being larger than the left. The tradition of training on this site continues today. The TAFE Hunter Institute Newcastle Art School is a combination of the 1896 Art School building, the 1895 Trades Hall building and a 1997 extension that joins the two architectural highlights into one. Hunter St is also home to the Steggas Emporium, built in 1886, a row of seven shops that represents one of Frederick Menkens’ earliest designs in Newcastle. The shops are typical of Victorian commercial street architecture of the period. The final stop on the architecture walk is the Newcastle Civic Centre, built in 1929. The theatre was designed by Henry Eli White, the same architect responsible for the City Hall. White was one of the most successful theatre architects in the country with Sydney’s Capitol and State Theatres also to his name. Originally designed internally in a dramatic Spanish Baroque style for both cinema and live theatre, the building went through many modifications and operators. By the 1960s the Civic was in decline, due to competition from television, and its patronage fell by 63%. It closed in 1973 and Newcastle Council made the decision to transform the Civic into a dedicated live theatre venue. This decision saved one of the last great remaining examples of picture palace architecture in the state.