Christchurch Arts Centre

The Arts Centre occupies the buildings put up for Canterbury College from 1877 onwards: grey stone, steep gables, mullioned windows and enclosed quadrangles, the largest group of Gothic Revival buildings in the country. The university moved to a new campus in the 1970s and the old one filled with studios, theatres, workshops and a weekend market instead. The earthquakes of 2010 and 2011 damaged it severely, and the repair has been one of the longest heritage projects the country has attempted, with walls dismantled, catalogued, strengthened and rebuilt stone by stone. Buildings have reopened in stages. Rutherford's Den, the plain lecture room and cellar laboratory where Ernest Rutherford studied, sits inside the complex.

History

The buildings were put up for Canterbury College, now the University of Canterbury, and for Christchurch Boys' and Girls' High Schools, many of them designed by Benjamin Mountfort. The Arts Centre of Christchurch Trust Board was formed in 1978 and took over the site from the university in 1979, and in May 2017 the university came back, opening its classics and music departments in the restored old Chemistry building (Wikipedia, Christchurch Arts Centre).

What you'll find

• The quadrangles - enclosed stone courtyards and cloisters between the college buildings.
• Rutherford's Den - the lecture room and basement laboratory used by Ernest Rutherford.
• The Great Hall - the largest of the restored college interiors, used for events and concerts.
• The rebuild itself - visible steel strengthening and numbered stonework where work continues.

When to go

Weekends are busiest and liveliest, with markets and performances; weekdays are quiet enough that some courtyards feel empty. The stone looks best under low winter sun, which picks out the carving. Check what is open before going, since the site reopens in stages and individual buildings close for work. Two to three hours covers the site with a coffee.

Things to know

This is still a construction site in parts, with hoardings and scaffolding that move from year to year, and a few buildings remain shut. The tenant mix has been slow to rebuild and some ground floor spaces sit empty, which makes the place feel underused midweek. Interpretation of the restoration is patchy unless you take a tour. The surrounding centre is still a mix of new building and vacant lots.

Nearby

The Botanic Gardens, Canterbury Museum and the Avon River punting are all on the same block of streets.

Key facts