Not Entirely Unscathed
Created | Updated Feb 12, 2012
h2g2ers are Living la vida Local in many different places. Rod tells us about his.
Not Entirely Unscathed
Those earthquakes that shook Christchurch and surrounds mostly passed us by – but not entirely. There is damage but not on the grand scale... a few walls down, a few houses with more than minor damage ... however, there are instances – and here are just two:
Robbie's
Robbie's, the Hotel / Bar / Bistro on High Street, in the middle of town, is now cordoned off until such time as it can be made safe or, more likely razed to the ground, because of the considerable damage caused – or completed – by the aftershocks/quakes in December 2011, damage which may well be too expensive to upgrade and repair to suitable standards.
That's a pity, as it is – or was – a noticeable building in the town.
The Town Hall
The other afflicted building is the Town Hall. Opened in 1926, it received a 'Landmarks' plaque, just in time to be closed in late 2010 – and there's no doubt that it is a landmark... for the moment.
Sadly, it wasn't designed for a town of this size, whose population rose from around 2,000 at its opening, to near 12,000 currently (and a slow upward trend in ages).
The projection of population suggests 15,000 or more by 2020. Temporary dwellers plus those choosing to stay here after finding refuge from the Christchurch events make one wonder if that projection is sufficient – traffic in the town is, some think, unsustainable.
It, the town hall, housed a dance hall, a theatre (used by the town amateur dramatic society) and a small cinema - and, serving the sizeable (well, relatively,) audience capacity, had one toilet in the foyer and one just off the stage (hmm!).
The man who, heroically, ran the cinema in competition with the larger ones and occasionally even obtained recent films, lost his livelihood and had to move to other premises – in a town some distance away.
Its future? Not many can see it being upgraded – we can hope, but …
Most people like it, some of us quite a lot, but there are a few who think its colour scheme just a touch strident. Nevertheless what it does is to say, and say quite clearly and unequivocally...
