(photograph © Kiwidutch)
This post is a continuation of the one I made yesterday… because I spied something that piqued my curiosity.
There’s a relatively unassuming building in Hereford Street, Christchurch that stands next to Shand’s Emporium and its called the Royal Insurance building. On the ground floor at street level there are four equal sized arches that house three windows and a doorway, followed on floors two to four by rows of four large bay windows on each level.
What’s seized my attention are two things, First is the unmissable massive ironwork bracing that appears to be holding up the front face of the building, and second is the fact that the building is tucked so close in to Shand’s Emporium that it even appears to be dovetailed into the recess beneath the Shand’s Emporium roof!
That’s a very “close relationship” indeed so needless to say I was interested to find out more about this building.
Sadly I drew almost a total blank on my research on this one, the only mention is I could find was that a company called “Royal Insurance” was indeed active in Hereford Street Christchurch from about the 1860′s onwards, thus making it one of the cities founding stone buildings… but details about how long it stayed as an Insurance company and when it ceased to be so and went on to other things appear to be absent (or more probably, the information is available somewhere in a place like the Christchurch City Council archives).
Still, background information or not, I hoped that whoever had gone to such a great effort to support this building, would be back to repair it at a later date.
As is my custom, I usually start sorting travel photographs and using my diary notes a week or two before the post is published… because often I need to fill in the gaps and provide names, dates and finish my research on the topic before I can post it and as you can imagine with work, health and family life, not everything can done quickly.
The text up until this point, I had written ready for posting, so imagine my horror when I ran across an on-line newspaper article yesterday here: http://www.stuff.co.nz/the-press/news/7575542/Good-home-wanted-for-Shands-Emporium
It’s not just the sad shape of the little Shand’s Emporium building that’s left me speechless ….it’s also the very prominent gap on the left side of the newspaper photograph where the Royal Insurance building should be standing that makes my heart sink.
I’m posting these photographs of the Royal Insurance building anyway… since photographs apparently, are all that’s left.
(photograph © Kiwidutch)
(photograph © Kiwidutch)
(photograph © Kiwidutch)
(photograph © Thanks to Google Street View)
(photograph © Thanks to Google Street View)
It seems nothing is forever when it comes to redevelopment.
Comment by lulu — October 9, 2012 @ 12:42 pm |
Lulu,
I know… especially if the land underneath your building could later on become a slice of prime real estate it seems.
Ok that last statement needs some quantifying:
General opinion says there are several sorts of business things “going on” in Christchurch at the moment: some business want to cut and run so are quick to cut ties with the damaged city they want insurance money quick so they can set up in “greener pastures”…. others are being given the run-around by insurers, and others are more or less forced out , they want to stay but their properties appear to be “in the way” or not conforming to CERA and council proposals for future development so they are offered a flat rate “take it or leave it” deal ….offered no power of negation and they are either digging in or resigning themselves to the fact that their property is part of a Government / local Government land grab at rock bottom prices.
This at least are the opinions I’ve picked up from family and friends,… some of them business owners themselves.
What’s worrying in these cases is the amazing lack of transparency… that we don’t know which demolitions are being done for what reasons…. it could be a little more than irony to ask “did they fall or where they pushed?”
Comment by kiwidutch — October 9, 2012 @ 5:47 pm |
I was actually surprise to see the building on the pics yesterday, the fact that was still there. The owner seems to be putting the responsibility for keeping the building on someone else’s shoulder, he has good intentions but he could take some action too.
Comment by Doggy's Style — October 9, 2012 @ 1:22 pm |
Doggy,
I got the impression he was trying to shove responsibility elsewhere too… it’s waaay too iconic to demolish, it reads to me like he would really like it ‘conveniently moved somewhere out of the way” … I TOTALLY agree he could take not just ‘some action: but actually a lot!
He says he doesn’t want any money for the place, but does that actually really mean he doesn’t want any money for the *land* ? Somehow I don’t think so… it’s ABLE to be moved because it’s wooden but that doesn’t mean in my humble opinion that it SHOULD be moved… the fact that it survived in it’s place surely should mean something. Build something around it that honours it’s longevity and let it become a symbol of the resilience of the city.
Shoving it out the way somewhere won’t do that…
Comment by kiwidutch — October 9, 2012 @ 5:58 pm |