Christchurch Arts Centre

Christchurch Arts Centre
Old Chemistry building (1910)
Location within the Christchurch Central City
Former names	Canterbury College
General information
Type	various uses
Coordinates	Coordinates: 43°31′53.33″S 172°37′41.64″E / 43.5314806°S 172.6282333°E / -43.5314806; 172.6282333
Inaugurated	1870s (first part of building)
Design and construction
Architect	Benjamin Mountfort Samuel Hurst Seager
Heritage New Zealand – Category I
Designated	15 February 1990
Reference no.	7301

The Christchurch Arts Centre was a hub for arts, crafts and entertainment in Christchurch, New Zealand. It is located in the neo-gothic former University of Canterbury buildings, the majority of which were designed by Benjamin Mountfort. The 23 heritage buildings are covered by three separate listings by Heritage New Zealand, two of which are Category I.

Following the 2011 Christchurch earthquake, the complex was closed for major repairs. More than half the site will be progressively re-opening through 2016.

The Arts Centre comprises 23 heritage buildings. The Student Union building was registered on 26 November 1981 and is a Category II entry. All buildings of the Arts Centre on the western half of the site were registered as heritage buildings by the New Zealand Historic Places Trust on 15 February 1990 with registration number 7301 classified as A and B. With the change of the classification system, the buildings later became a Category I listing. The Registry Building in the north-east corner of the site was registered on 13 February 1997 and is a Category I listing.

The buildings are also listed in the Christchurch City Plan as heritage items. In the previous plan, twenty buildings were listed as Group 1 or 2, and three buildings were listed as Group 3. The only modern building on the site, built in 1957 and extended in 1967, is an extension to the registry building facing Montreal Street; this was not listed under the old city plan, but it was proposed by the city council to include it in the listing with the historic registry building.

Before the earthquakes, the centre included speciality shops, bars, cafes, restaurants, galleries, theatres and cinemas. The Court Theatre is a professional theatre company founded in 1971 and was based at the Arts Centre from 1976 until 2010.

The Twelve Local Heroes is a series of bronze busts located on Worcester Boulevard outside the Arts Centre to commemorate twelve local Christchurch people who were prominent in their respective fields in the latter part of the 20th century.