Year 3 CERA. Pallet Pavilion, Victoria Sq, Junk Art Around Christ Church Cathedral Ghost

Pallet Pavilion, Victoria Sq, Cathedral Sq, Junk Art focus. Saturday afternoon, 06.07.13. Leah & I wanted to see live music & new art in Cathedral Sq. Since NZDF soldiers left the red zone cordon last week, after occupying Christchurch CBD for 28 months post 22 February quake & although there were still many cordon fences around bldgs & across streets in the CBD, citizens went back to the CBD to see demolition sites & ghosts & Restart Cashel Mall shops & some reopened New Regent St shops. Remaining CBD, Zombie land, a few shops & bars opened on old CBD borders.

06.07.13. Colombo St / Peterborough St view: Faux pissoir for ads, abandoned Copthorne Hotel awaited demolition for the new RC Cathedral precinct. Forsyth Barr / Crowne Plaza Hotel behind awaited repairs

Like last weekend, we wanted to trek Colombo St Bridge to Victoria Sq. NO ENTRY. Steel mesh fence cordons across Colombo St blocked our way by Town Hall ghost. So much for CERA's trumpeted removal of cordon fencing.

06.07.13. NO ENTRY. Orange, plastic, road cones, steel mesh fence cordon. Colombo St / Kilmore St view, Colombo St Bridge. Abandoned Copthorne Hotel awaited demolition for the new RC Cathedral precinct. Forsyth Barr / Crowne Plaza Hotel beyond awaited repairs

We trekked Kilmore St to Pallet Pavilion. Leah stood in front of Town Hall front door for the first time since 22 February quake. Town Hall, still steel mesh fence cordoned, awaiting repairs, shipping container barriers gone.

06.07.13. Steel mesh fence cordoned, abandoned, Christchurch Town Hall awaited repairs, Kilmore St

06.07.13. Shipping container, kitchen / shop, Crowne Plaza Hotel demolition site, Kilmore St. Abandoned Christchurch Town Hall left awaited repairs

06.07.13. Crowne Plaza Hotel demolition site, Kilmore St. The Arcades & Pallet Pavilion on site. Victoria Square apartments awaited demolition left behind for NZ govt's / CERA's Blueprint Convention Centre / Te Pae. Open Court House, Durham St Nth middle behind. 2022. Court House would be Huadu International Management Group, Huadu Education included

06.07.13. Crowne Plaza Hotel demolition site, Kilmore St. Abandoned Town Hall left awaited repairs. Gap Filler hut left. Mini Golf, The Arcades middle. Abandoned Forsyth Barr / Crowne Plaza Hotel behind left awaited repairs. Behind The Arcades, Victoria Square apartments awaited demolition for NZ Govt's / CERA's Blueprint Convention Centre / Te Pae

06.07.13. The Arcades, Pallet Pavilion, Crowne Plaza Hotel demolition site, Kilmore St. Abandoned Forsyth Barr / Crowne Plaza Hotel behind awaited repairs

06.07.13. Steel / orange, plastic, fence cordon. The Arcades, Pallet Pavilion, Crowne Plaza Hotel demolition site, Kilmore St. Abandoned Forsyth Barr / Crowne Plaza Hotel behind awaited repairs. Victoria Square apartments behind right awaited demolition for NZ govt's / CERA's Blueprint Convention Centre / Te Pae

06.07.13. Flea market, Pallet Pavilion, Kilmore St. Abandoned Forsyth Barr / Crowne Plaza Hotel behind left awaited repairs. Victoria Square apartments behind right awaited demolition for NZ govt's / CERA's Blueprint Convention centre / Te Pae

06.07.13. Flea market, Pallet Pavilion, Kilmore St. Abandoned Spicers behind awaited demolition for new lawyers' offices, Durham St Nth

Kilmore St / Durham St Nth: A flea market traded at Pallet Pavilion. Stacked, blue pallets, a wind break for customers sitting on pallets chomping food & drinks bought at a refreshment stall & trailer shops. Leah liked the new, wooden, relocatable Arcades going to Victoria Sq.
 

06.07.13. Pallet Pavilion, food trailers, Kilmore St. Abandoned Forsyth Barr / Crowne Plaza Hotel behind left awaited repairs. Victoria Square apartments middle awaited demolition for NZ govt's / CERA's Blueprint Convention Centre / Te Pae. Court House behind right. 2022. Court House would be Huadu International Management Group, incl Huadu Education

06.07.13. Steel / orange, plastic, fence cordon. The Arcades, Crowne Plaza Hotel demolition site, Kilmore St. Christchurch Casino right

We trekked to Victoria Sq, Town Hall ghost still steel mesh fence cordoned awaiting repairs. We saw the floral clock again, 28 months post quake, but the minute arm jerked improperly.

06.07.13. Floral Clock, Victoria Sq. Open Court House behind

Stood on Victoria Bridge (repaired 2016) looking downstream Avon River to Colombo St Bridge (still steel mesh fence cordoned) & looking upstream to Armagh St Bridge, open for pedestrian traffic.

Bordering Victoria Sq: Craigs House was gone, demolished. Victoria Square ghost apartments awaited demolition for NZ govt's / CCDU's Blueprint Convention Centre / Te Pae. Copthorne Hotel ghost awaited demolition. Forsyth Barr ghost awaited repairs for the "new" Crowne Plaza Hotel. The National Bank / Isaac House ghost, opp Forsyth Barr, would be the new Convention Centre's / Te Pae's neighbour. Ghost hotels, like Millennium Hotel / Distinction Hotel stayed in the CBD, hoping tourism would restart.

The longer the Anglican Church delayed rebuilding / restoring Christ Church Cathedral & the longer the Crown delayed building CCDU's Convention Centre / Te Pae, the longer it would take for hotels to flourish. As CBD hotels would benefit from Christ Church Cathedral tourism & Convention Centre / Te Pae clients, why didn't CBD hotels contribute to restoring Christ Church Cathedral & contribute to the Convention Centre / Te Pae rebuild?

Gloucester St:  NO THROUGH ROUTE FOLLOW DETOUR. W was closed near Central Library ghost awaiting demolition for NZ govt's / CCDU's Blueprint Convention Centre / Te Pae. CERA's / SCIRT's street closures & detours happened all over Christchurch. One week a street was open, the next closed.

06.07.13. NO THROUGH ROUTE. Orange, plastic, road cones. Gloucester St by Cathedral Sq left. Abandoned Central Library right awaited demolition for NZ govt's / CCDU's Blueprint Convention Centre / Te Pae

06.07.13. Steel mesh fence cordon. Serial quake trashed, Christ Church Cathedral, Cathedral Sq

06.07.13. Godley statue plinth left, Cathedral Sq. Godley statue fell in the 22.20.11 quake. Abandoned Rydges Hotel behind right. 2021. Rydges Hotel was still abandoned together with the multi-storey carpark below

06.07.13. Junk art on fence cordon, ruined Christ Church Cathedral, Cathedral Sq. Abandoned Millennium Hotel / Distinction Hotel right

06.07.13. Junk art on fence cordon, ruined Christ Church Cathedral, Cathedral Sq. Junk art, vegetation whare in front of Cathedral. The whare would pollute Cathedral Sq for the next 6 years, easy target for taggers. Repaired Novotel & Rendezvous Hotel / Pacific Tower left, abandoned Millennium Hotel / Distinction Hotel right 

Cathedral Sq: A band played on a temporary stage, backed by steel mesh fence cordoned, PO & Telecom ghost. Front of stage boards:

WELCOME BACK
CATHEDRAL SQUARE...

The old PO would be repaired & reopened as The Grand, Aug 2022.

06.07.13. WELCOME BACK, band playing on temp stage, Cathedral Sq. Abandoned, old PO behind

06.07.13. Band playing, Cathedral Sq. Abandoned, old PO, abandoned Telecom behind. The old PO would be repaired & reopened as The Grand, Aug 2022

People looked at junk art, where artists had covered cordon fencing around Christ Church Cathedral ghost with bright geometric designs on a black background. They'd stuck 1 000s of coloured plastic squares, forming more geometric designs, into steel mesh fence cordon wires, bordering ghosts around Cathedral Sq. Tacky, garish colours, pink, red, orange, blue, yellow...

06.07.13. Shipping container cordon. Quake damaged, boarded, N transept, Christ Church Cathedral, Cathedral  Sq

06.07.13. Quake damaged apse, N transept, Christ Church Cathedral, Cathedral Sq

06.07.13. Junk art on fence cordon, quake damaged, S nave wall, S transept, Christ Church Cathedral, Cathedral Sq. Steel gate & steel mesh on fence cordon

06.07.13. Junk art on steel mesh fence cordon, Cathedral Sq / Colombo St. Boarded, part demolished BNZ left. Spark multi-storey would be built on BNZ demo site

06.07.13. Junk art on steel mesh fence cordon, Cathedral Sq / Colombo St. Closed public toilets, open Ibis Hotel right

06.07.13. Junk art on steel mesh fence cordon, ANZ demolition site, Colombo St / Cathedral Sq. Closed public toilets, open Ibis Hotel left. Abandoned, old PO, abandoned Telecom right

Incongruously, a whare shed, covered in vegetation, was plonked before the cordon fence before ruined W facade of Christ Church Cathedral. A-frame echo of trashed W facade. The whare would pollute Cathedral Sq for the next 6 years, tagger target.

Instead of fixing trashed roads, Council paid artists for junk art, dumbing down Christchurch citizens. Gaps left in the kitsch fence (steel gates & steel mesh) for citizens to stare at Christ Church Cathedral ghost.

06.07.13. Steel gate & steel mesh on junk art, fence cordon, quake trashed, W facade, Christ Church Cathedral, Cathedral Sq

06.07.13. Junk art, SW cordon fence, quake trashed Christ Church Cathedral, Cathedral Sq

Deconsecrated Christ Church Cathedral: spook behind junk art. If it were safe, steel bracing, window boards, cordon fencing, stacked shipping container cordons would be unnecessary.

New info boards on Cathedral Sq described historic topics, like Christchurch transport, also incongruous, as there was only foot traffic in Cathedral Sq. Board headings:

JOURNEY CENTRAL...

THE FUTURE IS BRIGHT... (NZ National govt, National party slogan: A BRIGHTER FUTURE).

A VAST CHANGING CANVAS...

TOGETHER, TO GATHER...

Near the cop kiosk, ad boards:

RED ZONE
TOURS
2.5 HOURS OF THE
MOST AMAZING
EARTHQUAKE SIGHTS
YOU WILL EVER SEE...

2 HOUR LOCAL TOUR $65
3 HOUR LOCAL TOUR $75
GREATEST TOUR        $249
WINE TOUR                  $140...

06.07.13. Junk art on steel mesh fence cordon, NW cnr Cathedral Sq

06.07.13. Tourist ad boards, Cathedral Sq. Closed Camelot hotel, behind left awaited demolition for Central Library / Turanga rebuild. Repaired Novotel middle. Cop kiosk right would be demolished 2021

 

06.07.13. Ad bike, cop kiosk, Cathedral Sq

 

06.07.13. N cnr Colombo St / Cathedral Sq view, steel mesh fence cordoned, ghosts & repaired bldgs: Camelot Hotel ghost left awaited demolition for Central Library / Turanga rebuild. Repaired Novotel behind left. Repaired Heritage Hotel right

As most bldgs were abandoned, cordoned around Cathedral Sq, we wouldn't return for a while.

*Trekked Colombo St, Kilmore St, Gloucester St, Cathedral Sq. 48 images.

Coda:

2021. The cop kiosk would be demolished for contractor space for Reinstatement to begin on Christ Church Cathedral. Heritage hailer notice on the fence cordon, pleaded for public donations for Christ Church Cathedral reinstatement. But expensive restoration would need another decade. Meanwhile Christchurch Basilica mouldered, awaiting demolition, Barbadoes St.

Content & pics Copyright Mark JS Esslemont.