The impressive University of Auckland Old Arts Building was built between 1923 and 1926 following a competition won by American architect R A Lippincott. Gothic in style, it is constructed of reinforced concrete faced with Mt Somers stone. The tower is 53.34m high and is based on Christopher Wren’s Tom Tower at Christchurch College, Oxford.

The building was constructed by the Fletcher Construction Co, a company founded in Dunedin in 1909 by Scottishborn carpenter James Fletcher. At its zenith after WWII, Fletchers was active throughout Australasia, the Pacific and the west coast of North America. It is now a subsidiary of Fletcher Building Ltd.

The building was refurbished and strengthened in 1985, whereby the tower was braced with steel and much of the concrete filigree replaced with fibreglass to reduce weight. Steel shear walls and diaphragms were installed in other parts of the building. The mosaic tile floor in the foyer under the tower is a special feature. The consultants for the refurbishment were Sinclair Knight Merz Ltd.