Dancing, festival as New Regent Street re-opens

There will be a festival atmosphere as New Regent Street re-opens to the public this Saturday (20 April).

Christchurch City Council is supporting the owners and tenants of New Regent Street by providing street festivities over the weekend. An exciting programme of Latin American dance, music and performance has been put together for Saturday and Sunday. On Saturday, there will be a Library To Go bus and vintage car display in the area.

Mayor Bob Parker will officially re-open the street at an event attended by building owners and other invited guests starting at 7pm on Friday.

“This is a welcome milestone as we continue to reclaim the inner city,” Mayor Bob Parker says.

“New Regent Street is one of the most celebrated streetscapes in our city and is widely noted for its architecture and heritage value. Its re-opening will be welcomed by many, and rightly so as it begins its journey to being reinstated as a premier Christchurch destination.”

New Regent Street is the first in the central city to have infrastructure repair work that resulted from earthquake damage fully completed.

Mayor Bob Parker will be joined in cutting the ribbon by Alex Dunlop, the oldest grandson of earthquake victim Paul Dunlop, of Paul Dunlop & Associates optometrists previously located on New Regent Street.

Paul Dunlop was part of a team of eight dismantling an organ at the Durham St Methodist Mission Church when the earthquake hit. He was killed along with two men from the South Island Organ Company, while other workers managed to escape.

Chairman of the New Regent Street Owners’ Committee David Manning will speak and assist in the reopening.

Council has funded the many aspects of landscaping and streetscape works within New Regent Street and has worked closely with owners/tenants on consenting issues and ensured the street works in Gloucester Street are completed to enhance the pedestrian experience.

New Regent Street Ambassador, Betty Hazeldine, is both humbled and delighted at the achievement.

“There’s palpable excitement amongst the building owners and businesses as we prepare to reopen”, she says, “and we’re all incredibly grateful for the help and support afforded to us.”

The businesses themselves are also actively working together as they prepare to open their doors to an enthusiastic public. Under the New Regent Street brand, with the tagline ‘Indulge Yourself’, the street will be marketed as a boutique shopping, entertainment and heritage destination for locals and tourists alike.

While the buildings will not be fully tenanted at this date the public will be able to enjoy the rebuilt street.

A favourite with locals and tourists alike, New Regent Street is likely to become even more popular as Christchurch’s only remaining intact heritage streetscape. With its architectural features painstakingly restored, and the distinctive pastel colour scheme repainted, the street will feel both familiar and fresh to the city’s residents.

The street is significant as the only commercial street in New Zealand to have been designed as a coherent whole and is one of the best examples of Spanish Mission style architecture in New Zealand.

The street comprises 38 shops in two rows running north to south between Gloucester and Armagh Streets with a pedestrian area and tram line running through the centre. The two-storey buildings have decorative facades featuring shaped gables, medallions, tiled window hoods and barley-twist columns.

The buildings are listed as a Category 1 building with the Historic Places Trust.

New Regent Street was opened by the Mayor of Christchurch, Mr DG Sullivan on 1 April 1932, who described it as the most beautiful street in New Zealand.

Building owners, Christchurch City Council and CERA, and builders and craftsmen have collaborated to make the street’s reopening a reality.

New Regent Street opens to public:
Official invitation-only opening by Mayor Bob Parker from 7pm on Friday April 19
New Regent Street opens to the public from 9am Saturday 20 April
Activities planned for the street from 10am to 4pm on Saturday and Sunday, including Latin American dance, music and performance. A vintage car display and Library To Go bus will be in the area on Saturday.
Gloucester Street from Colombo Street to Manchester Street will be temporarily closed to vehicles for the re-opening of New Regent Street on Friday 19 April 6pm-10pm, and Saturday 20 April 8am-6pm. From

Sunday 21 April Gloucester Street will be open to two-way traffic.

Background

New Regent Street was the forerunner of the present day shopping mall in New Zealand.
At the time of its construction the concept of an entire street made up of small speciality shops was a new one for the nation. The 40 shops on individual titles were designed in the Spanish Mission Revival style by Francis Willis in 1930. Building took place between 1930 and 1932 and was one of the few large scale building projects undertaken in the South Island during the Depression.
New Regent Street occupies the site of the old Colosseum, a building dating from the 1880s and demolished in 1930.
On 1 April 1932, New Regent Street was opened by the Mayor of Christchurch, Mr D.G. Sullivan. Of the 40 shops offered for lease, only three were let owing to Depression. To encourage occupancy, New Regent Street Ltd decided to lease the remainder free of charge until businesses became established, and then at a nominal rent of 5 shillings a week. Over time some properties were amalgamated to form larger shops and all eventually passed into individual private ownership.

After World War 2 New Regent Street became a public road, and in 1986 it was made a one-way street. In 1994 the street became a pedestrian mall and the tramline was installed. At this time the cobblestone paving, wrought iron railings, planter beds and period lighting were introduced.

New Regent Street has unique streetscape value through the uniformity of design, form, colour and scale of all its shops. The street’s architectural style and continuous facade give it high public recognition and landmark significance. Mayor D G Sullivan described it at its opening as “the most beautiful street in New Zealand”.

The street now comprises 38 shops in two rows running north to south between Gloucester and Armagh Streets with pedestrian area and tram line running through the centre. The two storey buildings have decorative facades featuring shaped gables, medallions, tiled window hoods and barley-twist columns. The rear is utilitarian brick.

Prior to the earthquakes shops and restaurants occupied the street. Alterations have been made over time to some of the interiors, shopfronts and tiling. Despite these changes and moderate damage from earthquakes both stories of the buildings remain relatively intact.

The buildings are listed as a Category 1 building with the New Zealand Historic Places Trust (NZHPT).

The area comprising all buildings on New Regent Street has been registered with NZHPT as New Regent Street Historic Area. It has historical, architectural, aesthetic and cultural/social significance.

Further information can be found here:
www.historic.org.nz/TheRegister/RegisterSearch/RegisterResults.aspx?RID=7057

Revitalisation
Prior to the earthquakes Council initiated the New Regent Street Revitalisation Project. This project had the aim of achieving a full repaint of the street facades and maintenance and repair to the buildings. This revitalisation work was underway at the time of the earthquakes in 2010 and 2011.

Council has funded the following aspects of landscaping and streetscape works within New Regent Street:
o Repair and repainting of iron work surrounding landscaped areas;
o The street road carriageway has been re-engineered as a result of the earthquakes, due to a change in direction of water fall.
o Plants within landscaping areas and first floor planter boxes on facades;
o New replica 1930s styled bench seats
o New wrought iron rubbish bins
o Replacing damaged light fittings with new lamps

Street features
Street features include pedestrian areas, colourful road surfaces lined with planter boxes, and an outdoor reading room in front of the proposed Central Library site.

To enhance the pedestrian experience, this area will be a ‘slow zone’ of 30km per hour.

The design incorporates a “daisy chain” on the footpath of the southern side of Gloucester St. to encourage pedestrians to visit New Regent Street. The colours of the “daisies” are from the same palette as the building facades.

Building features
Decorative panels of tiling located along the shop front upstands and party walls are features. Replica replacement tiles were handmade in China to match original Minton tiles from England. Most tiles located on the horizontal shop front upstands are new, with any original tiles being used on the vertical panels between the units.

Most buildings have been re-rendered in colours that have been approved by the Christchurch City Council Heritage Team and New Zealand Historic Places Trust.

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