Paradox: CERA used taxpayers' money to demolish red-zone buildings, while Alice in Videoland made money from taxpayers & paid taxes for CERA to continue demolitions.
Post 1931 Napier quake, Christ Church's post office architect John Thomas Mair built the concrete post office in 1932, so JT knew about strong foundations & concrete-reinforcement in a quake-zone. Pity buildings around the old post office were so weak, as Alice in Videoland was surrounded by demolition-sites.
17.03.12. DANGER KEEP OUT. St Asaph St view: McKenzie Willis demolition site view to Tuam St & red zone CBD. 2019. The area would be Salt District rebuilds
17.03.12. St Asaph St, McKenzie Willis, demolition site view, Alice in Videoland middle, Tuam St, red zone, CBD. 2019. The area would be Salt District rebuilds
17.03.12. St Asaph St demolition site view: Serial quake trashed High St properties. 2019. The area would be Salt District rebuilds
A brickbat for CERA for issuing so many section 38's: demolition-orders to owners of surrounding red-zone buildings in St Asaph St, Tuam St, High St, Manchester St. During 2018-19, some of the High St buildings would be saved & refurbished, the area would be called Salt District.
17.03.12. St Asaph St view: McKenzie Willis demolition site view to Tuam St & red zone CBD. 2019. The area would be Salt District
17.03.12. St Asaph St, McKenzie Willis, demolition site view: Alice in Videoland left, Tuam St, red zone CBD. Abandoned, old Majestic Theatre beyond, Lichfield St, awaited demolition. 2019. The area would be Salt District
I parked on St Asaph St by the McKenzie Willis demolition-site where I looked through a red-zone steel-mesh-fence-cordon past more demolition-sites & across Tuam St to Alice in Videoland. The St Asaph St demolition-site was an eyesore with 22 February 2011 Quake ruins, teetering testaments to owners' & insurers' hesitations & CERA's slow demolitions.
Behind a steel-mesh-fence-cordon, a relocation-sign on a tree:
Now opening at...
181 Blenheim
Road
Come and visit us at our
new premises for all your
home furnishing needs.
A steel-mesh-fence-cordon threat-sign:
EXTREME
DANGER
KEEP
OUT
17.03.12. EXTREME DANGER KEEP OUT. Steel mesh fence cordon. St Asaph St alley view: Red zone CBD, Westpac left, Holiday Inn middle awaiting demolition. Hotel Grand Chancellor middle, demolition in progress. Alice in Videoland, Tuam St right
17.03.12. Steel mesh fence cordon. St Asaph St alley view: McKenzie Willis demolition site, red zone, CBD
Due to dangerous drop-zones around ruined high-rises, CERA still had many demolitions to do before the CBD-red-zone could reopen: So far, apart from Riverlands House, Copthorne Hotel, DTZ, Securities House & Brannigans high-rise demolitions & tinkering with Hotel Grand Chancellor demolition & Crowne Plaza Hotel demolition for months, many ruined high-rises still needed to be demolished in Christchurch's red-zone-CBD.
17.03.12. St Asaph St alley view: McKenzie Willis demolition site view of serial quake trashed properties, High St. 2019. The area would be Salt District
More than a year post 22 February 2011 Quake, high-rises had hardly been touched by CERA demolishers: BNZ, Grant Thornton, Clarendon Tower, PWC... still needed to be demolished. CERA disingenuously took credit for opening a corner of the CBD red-zone, Manchester St / Tuam St, by letting Alice in Videoland trade again, with so many high-rise demolitions still to go!br />
17.03.12. Steel mesh fence cordon. Serial quake survivors: the drawing room left, Odeon Theatre middle, Manchester St. Odeon Theatre would be demolished, Tuam St facade saved
17.03.12. Steel mesh fence cordon. Yellow digger. Serial quake survivor, Odeon Theatre, Manchester St. Odeon Theatre would be demolished, Tuam St facade saved
17.03.12. Steel mesh fence cordon. St Asaph St / Manchester St, demolition site view: red zone CBD, Odeon Theatre left, Real Groovy middle, Westpac right. Westpac would be demolished. Real Groovy would be demolished. Odeon Theatre would be demolished, Tuam St facade saved
17.03.12. St Asaph St / Manchester St demolition site view, red zone high rises: Westpac left, Holiday Inn middle, Hotel Grand Chancellor demolition right. The 3 high rises would be demolished
17.03.12. NZDF checkpoint view, St Asaph St / Manchester St crossing & S view, Manchester St to Port Hills. Post 22.02.11 quake, the NZDF checkpoint was at the crossing for more than a year, then moved N to High St crossing
17.03.12. ROAD CLOSED. Manchester St / Tuam St crossing, W view, red zone Tuam St. Real Groovy left, old Council bldg middle right. Odeon Theatre facade, middle left, would be saved after the rest of the theatre was demolished. The facade would be supported for years by stacked shipping containers, obstructing traffic. Real Groovy & old Council bldg would be demolished. The old Council bldg site would become the Bus Interchange site
17.03.12. Steel mesh fence cordon. Manchester St / Tuam St crossing view, red zone CBD. Westpac awaited demolition behind.
17.03.12. AUTHORISED VEHICLES ONLY. Steel mesh fence cordon. Manchester St / Tuam St crossing view, red zone CBD. Westpac left, Holiday Inn right awaited demolition
17.03.12. Steel mesh fence cordon. Manchester St / Tuam St crossing N view: New NZDF checkpoint, Manchester St / High St crossing, red zone, CBD. The 8 storey bldg behind the orange Nucleus sculpture would be abandoned for years then refurbished as The Muse Art Hotel
17.03.12. Steel mesh fence cordon. Stacked shipping containers, bracing a serial quake trashed facade, between Manchester St / Tuam St crossing & a new NZDF checkpoint, Manchester St / High St crossing
At a new NZDF-checkpoint, Manchester St / Tuam St / High St crossings, the steel-mesh-fence-cordon threat-signs:
NO
PUBLIC
ACCESS
ROAD
CLOSED
EXTREME
DANGER
KEEP
OUT
ACCESS POINT
HOURS OF OPERATION
6AM TO 7PM DAILY
OUTSIDE THIS TIME USE
MANCHESTER ST / CAMBRIDGE TCE
ACCESS POINT
Why wasn't CERA demolishing 24/7 to hasten recovery?
All CERA did was move its occupying NZDF-checkpoint about 100m down Manchester St, from St Asaph St crossing past Tuam St crossing to High St crossing, to allow Alice in Videoland trade. The old post office wasn't fully opened to the public, as the red-zone steel-mesh-fence-cordon across Tuam St started half way along the building. High St was still closed. It would become C1 Cafe entrance.
17.03.12. Steel mesh fence cordon. Tuam St / Manchester St, weedy demolition site view, red zone CBD. Westpac left, Holiday Inn middle awaited demolition
17.03.12. Old & new billboards, Tuam St / Manchester St demolition site & view into red zone CBD
On an old brick-wall nearby, an old advert was covered by new billboard:
Let's build our
new city together
- kia kaha
17.03.12. Steel mesh fence cordon. Red zone CBD view from Alice in Videoland, Tuam St. Abandoned, old Majestic Theatre behind, Lichfield St, awaited demolition
It would take years for CERA to demolish remaining high-rises. Even Council was more effective in demolishing Manchester Courts post 4 September 2011 Quake, with no red-zone & citizens wandering the precinct too! CERA the new government department was bogged by inertia!
17.03.12. Alice in Videoland, post quake re-opening, Tuam St
17.03.12. ROAD CLOSED. Steel mesh fence cordon. Alice in Videoland re-opening by red zone, CBD wasteland, Tuam St / High St
17.03.12. ROAD CLOSED. Orange, plastic, road cones, steel mesh fence cordon. Alice in Videoland, re-opening view of quake demolition site & steel braced McKenzie Willis, Tuam St / High St. 2019. The area would be Salt District
While CERA did slow demolitions in the red-zone-CBD, CERA boss Sutton soliloquized in The Star 16.03.12 how the Port Hills were divided into segments for geologists & geotech engineers to decide which bits of the Port Hills were prone to quake rockfall, cliff-fall or hill subsidence.
17.03.12. Steel mesh fence cordon. Alice in Videoland, re-opening view, TV 3 News SUV & Tuam St / Manchester St crossing. Odeon Theatre left would be demolished, Tuam St facade retained, supported for years by stacked shipping containers, obstructing traffic. Real Groovy right would be demolished
17.03.12. Steel mesh fence cordon. Alice in Videoland re-opening, TV 3 News, camera man & anchor girl, Tuam St. Quake demolition sites behind, Manchester St
17.03.12. Alice in Videoland re-opening, owner talking to TV 3 News camera man, Tuam St
After 10 000 quakes, CERA's claptrap about rockfall & computer-modelling was no excuse for CERA's delays affecting white-zoners' lives. Meanwhile Port Hills white-zoners still awaited CERA's land rezoning by the end of June so white-zoners could progress their limbo-lives, more than a year post 22 February 2011 Quake1
17.03.12. ROAD CLOSED. Orange, plastic, road cones, steel mesh fence cordon. Alice in Videoland re-opening view: quake demolition site, steel braced McKenzie Willis, Tuam St / High St. 2019. The area would be Salt District
While I snapped demolition-sites around Alice in Videoland, Tuam St / High St, more photographers & video-shoppers arrived. A TV 3 News team interviewed Alice in Videoland's video shop-owners.
17.03.12. Steel mesh fence cordon. Alice in Videoland reopening, TV 3 News camera man & anchor girl, Tuam St
17.03.12. ROAD CLOSED. Orange, plastic, road cones, steel mesh fence cordon. Re-opening Alice in Videoland view: Quake demolition site & steel braced McKenzie Willis, Tuam St / High St. 2019. The area would be Salt District
CERA decided many old & new red-zone-CBD ruins would be demolished leaving Alice in Videoland a concrete-island in a weedy wasteland. Due to CERA's slow rebuild, it would be years before Alice in Videoland had rebuilt neighbours.
17.03.12. ROAD CLOSED. Orange, plastic, road cones, steel mesh fence cordon. Alice in Videoland re-opening, E view along red zone Tuam St. 2019. The area would be Salt District
17.03.12. Steel mesh fence cordon. Alice in Videoland reopening, W view along red zone Tuam St. Real Groovy left awaited demo. Old, Council bldg mid right would be demolished for the Bus Interchange
17.03.12. Alice in Videoland re-opening, Tuam St / Manchester St, demolition site view into red zone CBD
17.03.12. Orange, plastic, road cones, steel mesh fence cordon. Manchester St / Tuam St crossing, N view, new NZDF checkpoint, Manchester St / High St crossing
17.03.12. Manchester St demolition site view: Re-opened Alice in Videoland left, quake demolition site right, Tuam St / High St. 2019. The area would be Salt District
17.03.12. Steel mesh fence cordon. Post quake demolition site view, Odeon Theatre left, Real Groovy right, Manchester St / Tuam St. Real Groovy & Odeon Theatre would be demolished, Tuam St facade saved, supported by stacked shipping containers, blocking traffic for years
17.03.12. Steel mesh fence cordon. Yellow / black digger. Manchester St, post quake demolition site view, Odeon Theatre, awaiting demolition. Tuam St facade was saved, supported by stacked shipping containers, blocking traffic for years
17.03.12. Quake tributes, steel mesh fence cordon, red zone, Manchester St. Odeon Theatre awaited demolition, beyond demolition site,
*Trekked St Asaph St, Manchester St, Tuam St. 130 images.
Sunday 18.03.12. 0.55am, M4.3 quake, 10km depth, 10km northeast of Diamond Harbour. It rumbled by shaking our pot plants & disturbed our late night TV viewing.
8.19am, M3.8 quake, 11km depth, 10km east of Christchurch. It rattled our windows. (GeoNet).
Monday 19.03.12. After his polytech studies during quake-times, Luke started work at Southern Pine Products, Hornby. Over the last two years during quakes, he'd completed a builder course at Sullivan Ave polytech, including building a house with other students, & doing part-time builder work. Luke's builder boss offered an apprenticeship which Luke declined. Instead, he then did two joinery courses to be well placed for future joinery work & salvage work during the post-quake rebuild.
As dad's-taxi during quakes & en route to Hornby where Russley Rd by the airport was upgraded to four lanes, I was well placed to comment on Christchurch quakes & aftermath. I did lots of driving around town during quake-years 2010-2013.
Given the volume of 7am Burnside to Hornby traffic on Russley Rd past Christchurch Airport, Carmen Rd, Waterloo Rd, Main South Rd, & Halswell Junction Rd industrial area where Luke worked, Hornby was booming. Many suburbs boomed while the CERA-occupied-CBD declined, as CBD businesses had relocated to suburbs. Examples: Rockshop, Manchester St, relocated to Hornby. Fudge Shop, Arts Centre, Worcester Blvd, relocated to Bishopdale. (Fudge Shop would relocate back to the Arts Centre after the Arts Centre was repaired). Smith's Bookshop, Manchester St, relocated to Woolston...
During Luke's pre-quake high school days, I drove Luke weekly to Dickens St for drumming lessons off Lincoln Rd, Addington, a seedy area. Post- quakes, Lincoln Rd spruced up: New offices were built at the bottom of Lincoln Rd opposite Hagley Park & empty business-rentals further up Lincoln Rd were tenanted by relocated-businesses, like Moroccan restaurant, Mosaic by Simo, Colombo St which was ruined in the 4 September 2010 Quake. Lincoln Road's quick business-activity was stark contrast to CERA's slow demolitions of steel-mesh-fence-cordoned CBD-ruins & CERA's military-occupation of the CBD. Like the military, CERA destroyed. Could CERA change its militarized disaster-mindset to creative rebuild-mindset? (How many retired military-personnel were in CERA's echelons?)
Saturday 24.03.12. 5.09pm, M3.9 quake, 12km depth, 10km east of Christchurch (GeoNet). I didn't feel it, as I was driving my car. Leah & other teachers at the London St school felt it, a sharp vertical jolt, shaking the two-storey building & slamming a door!
Wednesday 28.03.12. 3.04am, M3.8 quake, 10km depth, 10km south of Christchurch. (GeoNet). It Woke us up rattling our windows. Smaller M3+ quakes rattled earlier in the night too. We didn't feel them.
Coda:
Monday 30.07.12. CERA would announce as part of CERA's Blueprint for Christchurch-CBD that land between Manchester St & Madras St would become East Frame parkland. NZ National government / CERA proposed buying & demolishing properties in the East Frame as a land-bank, enabling core-CBD properties to retain value.
November 2013. CERA would still be in military mindset: demolitions in the CBD & demolitions in residential red-zones, without much rebuilding of new CBD buildings nor house rebuilds. Hence the demolition-wasteland of CERA's core-CBD & commercial ruins & ruined red- zones devoid of housing. Despite CERA's early denial, only in late 2013 would CERA acknowledge there was a post-quake housing-crisis in Christchurch, mostly of CERA's making with red-zonings & demolitions of commercial buildings & housing without rapid replacement. Never mind resultant inflated housing markets & rental markets causing hardship for citizens.
October 2022. After my October 2021 Cochlear Implant surgery at St Georges Hospital, Papanui Rd, I would attend the first movie I heard in three decades: "Mrs Harris Goes to Paris" shown at Alice in Videoland Cinema, Tuam St.
Content & pics, Copyright Mark JS Esslemont.
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