Christchurch is the largest city in the South Island and the second-largest city by urban area population in New Zealand, after Auckland. Christchurch lies in the Canterbury Region, near the centre of the east coast of the South Island, east of the Canterbury Plains. It is located near the southern end of Pegasus Bay, and is bounded to the east by the Pacific Ocean and to the south by Banks Peninsula. The Avon River / Ōtākaro flows through the centre of the city, with a large urban park along its banks. Christchurch has a reputation for being an 'English' city, with its architectural identity and common nickname the "Garden City" due to similarities with garden cities in England.
Cathedral Square, locally known simply as the Square, is the geographical centre and heart of Christchurch, New Zealand, where the city's Anglican cathedral, ChristChurch Cathedral is located. The square stands at the theoretical crossing of the city's two main orthogonal streets, Colombo Street and Worcester Street, though in practice both have been either blocked off or detoured around the square itself. The square was badly damaged in the February 2011 Christchurch earthquake.
Isaac Luck was a New Zealand architect. A professional builder, he arrived in Lyttelton on the Steadfast in 1851. He was the third chairman of the Christchurch Town Council. He was the brother-in-law of and in partnership with Benjamin Mountfort, and was the less well-known architectural partner for the design of the Canterbury Provincial Council Buildings.
TheArts Centre Te Matatiki Toi Ora is a hub for arts, culture, education, creativity and entrepreneurship in Christchurch, New Zealand. It is located in the Gothic Revival former Canterbury College, Christchurch Boys' High School and Christchurch Girls' High School buildings, many of which were designed by Benjamin Mountfort. The centre is a national landmark and taonga as it is home to New Zealand's largest collection of category one heritage buildings with 21 of the 23 buildings covered by Heritage New Zealand listings.
The Christchurch City Council is the local government authority for Christchurch in New Zealand. It is a territorial authority elected to represent the 396,200 people of Christchurch. Since October 2022, the Mayor of Christchurch is Phil Mauger, who succeeded after the retirement of Lianne Dalziel. The council currently consists of 16 councillors elected from sixteen wards, and is presided over by the mayor, who is elected at large. The number of elected members and ward boundaries changed prior to the 2016 election.
Warner's Hotel in 50 Cathedral Square, Christchurch is the site of a hotel established in 1863. The original building, extended on numerous occasions, burned down in 1900. A new building was built in 1901. Again, it underwent numerous alterations. A fourth storey was added in 1910 and the northern end of the building was demolished in 1917 and a theatre built in its place to create a noise buffer to the printing presses of the adjoining Lyttelton Times Building. The theatre was demolished in 1996 and patrons enjoyed a beer garden. In 2010, a high-rise Novotel hotel opened on the site of the beer garden and in the process, the historical and symmetrical 1901 façade was recreated.
Our City, more formally Our City O-Tautahi, also known as the Old Municipal Chambers, is a Queen Anne style building on the corner of Worcester Street and Oxford Terrace in the Christchurch Central City. It is a Category I heritage building registered with Heritage New Zealand. From 1887 to 1924 it was used by Christchurch City Council as their civic offices, providing room for meetings of the council and for housing staff, before they moved to the Civic. It was then used for many decades by the Canterbury Chamber of Commerce and served as the main tourist information. It was last used as an exhibition and events centre before being damaged in the Christchurch earthquakes. It is due to be reopened in June 2024.
The Chief Post Office or Christchurch Central Post Office, originally known as the Government Buildings, is located in Cathedral Square, Christchurch, New Zealand. The building was initially a post office with Immigration, Customs and Public Works departments. The Government Buildings were later replaced by the new Government Buildings opened in 1913, and the Chief Post Office remained on-site. In 1881, New Zealand’s first telephone exchange was installed in the building. Post services were offered from the building until 2000 when it was re-purposed to house a Christchurch tourist information centre and a restaurant, café and offices. Following the 2011 Christchurch earthquake the building closed. In the early 2020s repairs and strengthening took place. The building was planned to reopen in 2023 in stages, and eventually include a restaurant, shops, and a visitor information centre, under the name "The Grand". The structure is registered with Heritage New Zealand as a Category I heritage building.
Mona Vale, with its homestead formerly known as Karewa, is a public park of 4 ha in the Christchurch suburb of Fendalton. The homestead and gate house are both listed as heritage buildings with Heritage New Zealand (NZHPT). The fernery and the rose garden, and pavilion with the setting of the park along the Avon River, add to the attractiveness of the property. It is one of the major tourist attractions of Christchurch.
City Mall is the main pedestrian mall in the central city of Christchurch, New Zealand, comprising two sections of Cashel Street plus the Bridge of Remembrance and one section of High Street. It is also known colloquially as Cashel Mall. The Bridge of Remembrance was pedestrianised in 1976. The main mall was closed to traffic on 11 January 1982 and formally reopened as a pedestrian mall on 7 August, but it was not until 1992 that the entire mall was paved. The mall was redeveloped between 2006 and 2009, and track was installed for an expansion of the heritage tram network.
McLean's Mansion is a homestead in Christchurch, New Zealand. The two hectares property is situated between Manchester and Colombo Streets. The mansion was initially known as 'Holly Lea', but later became known as McLean's Mansion after its initial owner. It is the largest wooden residence in New Zealand. The mansion, designed by Robert England, architect of Christchurch, is a fusion of styles of Jacobean architecture and Victorian features, akin to the Mentmore Towers (1852–54) of Sir Joseph Paxton in Buckinghamshire in England. It was built between April 1899 and September 1900. The house is registered as a Category I heritage building by Heritage New Zealand. After the 2011 Christchurch earthquake, the owners applied to demolish the earthquake-damaged buildings, but their request was denied by the heritage body and the courts. In December 2016, the building sold to a trust that will restore it for use as a gallery. Restoration is expected to be finished by 2024.
Antony Thomas Gough is a New Zealand businessman and property developer based in Christchurch. The grandson of Tracy Thomas Gough, who founded Gough, Gough and Hamer, Gough is considered to be one of the city's most influential businessmen. He is the developer of The Terrace, a major commercial development in Christchurch's retail district and part of the city's reconstruction programme following the 2011 earthquake.
The Crowne Plaza Christchurch, formerly known as the Forsyth Barr Building, is located on the south-east corner of the Armagh and Colombo Streets intersection in Christchurch, New Zealand. Originally owned by Bob Jones and branded Robert Jones House by him, it was commonly referred to as Bob Jones Tower, but some called it Bob's Folly. In the 2011 Christchurch earthquake, its staircases collapsed, trapping the occupants. The building reopened in July 2017 as the city's Crowne Plaza hotel.
The Kate Sheppard National Memorial, located in the city of Christchurch, is New Zealand's first memorial to the women's suffrage campaign, and particularly honours the life of one of the country's leading campaigners for women's suffrage, Kate Sheppard.
Tūranga is the largest public library located in Central Christchurch, New Zealand. It opened on 12 October 2018 and replaced the nearby Christchurch Central Library that was closed on the day of the 2011 Christchurch earthquake.
The Christchurch Central Recovery Plan, often referred to as the Blueprint, is the plan developed by the Fifth National Government of New Zealand for the recovery of the Christchurch Central City from a series of earthquakes, in particular the February 2011 Christchurch earthquake. The Canterbury Earthquake Response and Recovery Act 2010 required the Christchurch City Council to develop a recovery plan for the central city. The plan, known as Share an Idea, was presented to the Minister for Canterbury Earthquake Recovery, Gerry Brownlee, in December 2011. Brownlee rejected the city council's plan, established the Canterbury Earthquake Recovery Authority (CERA), and tasked that organisation with developing a plan based on the city council's draft. The Christchurch Central Recovery Plan was published in July 2012 and defined 17 anchor projects. All projects where a timeline was specified were to have been finished by 2017; none of the 17 projects have been delivered on time and some have not even been started yet.
Worcester Street is a road in the central city of Christchurch, New Zealand. It runs from the intersection of Rolleston Avenue in the west, and terminates in the east at the intersection of Woodham Road in Linwood. Between Rolleston Avenue and Cambridge Terrace, it is known as Worcester Boulevard.
The former Midland Club Building is a heritage-listed building located in Central Christchurch, New Zealand. The building once house the Midland Club, which ceased in 1991, after which, the building was sold. It housed Caffe Roma until the 2011 Canterbury earthquake caused significant damage. It was later restored, and strengthened in 2018. It is one of the few remaining multi-storey brick heritage buildings left in the city, post-earthquake.
