in the mid 1990s most of the eastern portion of the street was demolished, partially to widen the roadway. this took with it several buildings of importance including the lyric theatre of 1911, tylers, the el matador, the astor hotel and the bnz (an art deco structure with maori motifs). initially the skycity casino and sky tower were intended to occupy the resulting vacant block of land but for various reasons (including sightline issues involving the profile of mt eden) that development was relocated away from this area. the 'missing' part of the street has subsequently been rebuilt with buildings which are very poor replacements of the lost structures.