The design of the arches allowed ease of pedestrian traffic and motor vehicles. The arches also provided entertainment for various individuals who climbed them. The long arm of the law would have to wait either side of the arch to reprimand the offending individual after the descent.
In 1991 the council had decided to revamp Emerson St to one-way traffic access and give it a Mediterranean flavour.
They also decided the centennial arches had no place in the new scheme and had to be gone by the Queen's Birthday weekend.
The arches, which were apparently only supposed to be up for six months, had lasted 33 years.
Consideration was given to shifting the arches to another location. Some councillors were against the idea, and it appeared that despite the arches being somewhat iconic and featuring in much promotional material, The Daily Telegraph reported that Napierites were not fussed about their fate.
With Art Deco gaining prominence in Napier, some believed the arches "were relics of a bygone era" (an ironic statement).
Ahuriri and the Marine Parade South were considered as locations to re-site the two arches. The cost of doing so would have to include new lights and wiring as they had reached the end of their useful life.
Special requirements regarding earthquake strengthening would complicate their re-erection, and well as a new cantilever design.
The cost of $41,000 (2018: $69,000) to do the work was too much for the councillors at a November 1991 council meeting, who decided to store the arches at the council's work depot until a decision could be made on the funding in February 1992.
The retailers at Ahuriri began to have second thoughts about the centennial arches when they would have to lose four carparks in the Nelson Quay intersection with Bridge St.
One set of the arches – already containing some rust - would further deteriorate in the council's yards and would have to be scrapped.
A vote to investigate a Marine Parade site for the remaining set of arches in February 1992, near Ellison St, was defeated six-five by councillors after an attempt by Napier mayor Alan Dick, who cited strong support from the public to see them back up again.
The arches, it seemed, would remain at the council yard for the foreseeable future.
Councillor Ashley Church described an attempt to get them erected in the Kennedy Park rose gardens as "another nail in the arches' coffin" when the proposal was soundly defeated in October 1992.
Council officers were against the idea, saying it was not a suitable site, and most councillors agreed. Councillor John Kennedy was reported as saying he would like someone to "put a hacksaw to them" and sell them for scrap: "They have served their purpose."
Councillor Anne Tolley said the arches were so unimportant the council had not even budgeted for their re-erection. Councillor Church believed the arches "were an important part of Napier's history and were remembered fondly by older people".
Finally, the council decided in October 1993 to sell the remaining set of arches by tender.
Napier man Kerry Single successfully tendered for them and had planned to put them on his property at The Loop, Meeanee.
However, the Napier City Council treated the arches as a building rather than a stand-alone structure.
Faced with the cost of permits and other strict requirements to do this, the arches would sit in Kerry's paddock until around 1997, when they were sold for a roof structure in Central Hawke's Bay.
The new Emerson St development was opened in December 1992 by Governor-General Dame Cath Tizard who remarked on the sometimes-controversial project as one which "attractively combines renewal with preservation".
The centennial lights are still fondly remembered by many in Hawke's Bay, although for some possibly different reasons.
• Michael Fowler (mfhistory@gmail.com) is a chartered accountant, freelance writer, contract researcher of Hawke's Bay's history.
