New Regent Street

New Regent Street was built in 1932 as a single planned development - forty shops in matching Spanish Mission style, painted in pastels, on a short pedestrian block - and it was the first shopping street in New Zealand designed as a coherent whole rather than accumulated building by building. It is registered as a historic place. The 2010 and 2011 earthquakes damaged it badly and it was closed for years while every building was strengthened and repaired; it reopened progressively and is now one of the more complete pieces of pre-earthquake Christchurch still standing. The heritage tram runs through it on the city loop. The shops are cafes, bars, small retailers and a couple of long-running institutions. It is one short block, so it is a twenty-minute walk rather than an afternoon, and it works best combined with the tram loop and the surrounding rebuilt centre.

History

Before the street, the site was "the Circus paddock", and from 1888 a building called the Colosseum stood here, by turns a skating rink, a boot factory and, in 1908, Christchurch's first cinema; it was pulled down in January 1931. The street of 40 shops cost about £90,000, was called New Regent Street because the council would not allow a second Regent Street, and was finished in late March 1932 (Wikipedia, New Regent Street).

What you'll find

• The 1932 row - forty matching Spanish Mission shopfronts in pastel.
• The tram - running down the middle on the city loop.
• The earthquake repair - every building strengthened and reopened.
• The cafes and bars - what the block is used for now.

When to go

Any time; evenings when the bars are open have the most life. It is one short block - twenty minutes to walk, longer if you stop.

Things to know

It is a single short street, not a district. Prices are city-centre. The tram is ticketed separately and runs a loop rather than a service.

Nearby

Cathedral Square and the Transitional Cathedral are minutes away; the Avon and the Botanic Gardens are west.

Key facts