Location: 112 High Street, Rangiora, opposite Victoria Street
The original Junction Hotel was built in 1868. It was a two-storey weatherboard building and was owned by brothers John and William Sinclair, both staunch Presbyterians and founding members of the church in Rangiora.
In 1880 a new hotel was built for Joseph Oram Shepherd to replace the wooden structure. It cost him £5000 and bankrupted him in the process. It was a large two-storey brick building finished in Oamaru stone with heavy gables and a balcony overhanging the footpath. This heavy stone façade was bought down onto the street by the Christmas Day 1922 earthquake, taking the balcony with it.
A water trough and hitching rails were sited in front. Behind the building were livery stables and an old corrugated iron shed which served as the town morgue.
Access for horses and carts to the stables from High Street was provided through the wide archway (now closed in) at the western end.
During the 1990s the hotel fell into a state of disrepair and disrepute and took a new lease of life when it was bought by Bob Muschamp who restored it. After restoration it operated as a Robbies family restaurant until it was closed in January 2012 because it was earthquake-prone.
In 2014 the building received funding from the Heritage Protection Trust to retain the façade. The building structure behind the façade was demolished in late 2014 and a new building is currently being built in behind the façade.
The Junction Hotel was given Landmarks status at a ceremony held on 23 December 2001. It has a Historic Place Category II registration.
