The Chalice

Christchurch Central City or Christchurch City Centre is the geographical centre and the heart of Christchurch, New Zealand. It is defined as the area within the Four Avenues (Bealey Avenue, Fitzgerald Avenue, Moorhouse Avenue and Deans Avenue) and thus includes the densely built up central city, some less dense surrounding areas of residential, educational and industrial usage, and green space including Hagley Park, the Christchurch Botanic Gardens and the Barbadoes Street Cemetery. It suffered heavy damage in the 2010 Canterbury earthquake and was devastated in the 2011 Christchurch earthquake. Following this second earthquake, the Central City Red Zone was set up and, with a gradually shrinking area, remained inaccessible except to authorised contractors until June 2013. However, proposals to relocate the city centre elsewhere, to avoid future damage, were considered both uneconomical (as much of the infrastructure was still mainly intact) and unnecessary, as the rebuilt city centre would be to modern building standards so as to be able to withstand similar quakes and liquefaction in the future.

Cathedral Square, locally known simply as the Square, is the geographical centre and heart of Christchurch, New Zealand, where the city's Anglican cathedral, ChristChurch Cathedral is located. The square stands at the theoretical crossing of the city's two main orthogonal streets, Colombo Street and Worcester Street, though in practice both have been either blocked off or detoured around the square itself. The cathedral was badly damaged in the February 2011 Christchurch earthquake.

ChristChurch Cathedral, also called Christ Church Cathedral and (rarely) Cathedral Church of Christ, is a deconsecrated Anglican cathedral in the city of Christchurch, New Zealand. It was built between 1864 and 1904 in the centre of the city, surrounded by Cathedral Square. It became the cathedral seat of the Bishop of Christchurch, who is in the New Zealand tikanga of the Anglican Church in Aotearoa, New Zealand and Polynesia. Earthquakes have repeatedly damaged the building (mostly the spire): in 1881, 1888, 1901, 1922, and 2010. The February 2011 Christchurch earthquake destroyed the spire and the upper portion of the tower, and severely damaged the rest of the building. A lower portion of the tower was demolished immediately following the 2011 earthquake to facilitate search and rescue operations. The remainder of the tower was demolished in March 2012. The badly damaged west wall, which contained the rose window, partially collapsed in the June 2011 earthquake and suffered further damage in the December 2011 earthquakes. The Anglican Church decided to demolish the building and replace it with a new structure, but various groups opposed the church's intentions, with actions including taking a case to court. While the judgements were mostly in favour of the church, no further demolition occurred after the removal of the tower in early 2012. Government expressed its concern over the stalemate and appointed an independent negotiator and in September 2017, the Christchurch Diocesan Synod announced that ChristChurch Cathedral will be reinstated after promises of extra grants and loans from local and central government. By mid-2019 early design and stabilisation work had begun.Since 15 August 2013 the cathedral community has worshipped at the Cardboard Cathedral.

The Godley Statue is a bronze statue situated in Cathedral Square in Christchurch, New Zealand. It commemorates the "Founder of Canterbury" John Robert Godley. It was the first statue portraying a person in New Zealand. The statue fell off its plinth in the February 2011 Christchurch earthquake and time capsules were discovered inside the plinth. It was four years before the statue was returned to its position.

The Chief Post Office or Christchurch Central Post Office, originally known as the Government Buildings, is located in Cathedral Square, Christchurch, New Zealand. The building was initially a post office with Immigration, Customs and Public Works departments. The Government Buildings were later replaced by the new Government Buildings opened in 1913, and the Chief Post Office remained on-site. In 1881, New Zealand’s first telephone exchange was installed in the building. Post services were offered from the building until 2000 when it was re-purposed to house a Christchurch tourist information centre and a restaurant, café and offices. Following the 2011 Christchurch earthquake the building closed. In the early 2020s repairs and strengthening took place. The building was planned to reopen in 2023 in stages, and eventually include a restaurant, shops, and a visitor information centre, under the name "The Grand". The structure is registered with Heritage New Zealand as a Category I heritage building.

The Fisher's Building (also known as the Hanafins Building) was a 19th-century Venetian Gothic building located in central Christchurch, New Zealand. It was designed in 1872 by architect William Armson and constructed from concrete and brick in 1880 on a central city site leased to Thomas Richard Fisher, who ran a tea and grocery store. The building was known for its prominent verandah, ornate design, and distinct corner shape. A category-one heritage-listed property, the Fisher's Building was one of the few surviving examples of Venetian Gothic architecture in Christchurch. It was also the last surviving structure on Hereford Street designed by Armson, who had designed several commercial buildings in the area. Built as an extension to what was then the City Chambers, it occupied a corner site on the intersection of High Street and Hereford Street, giving it a distinctive triangle shape from above. Following Fisher's death in 1890, the building was inherited by his estate and passed to numerous owners in the subsequent decades, until it was purchased in 1922 by Henry Slater Richards, who transferred it to his three sons in 1926. The brothers held joint interest until the 1970s, when it was transferred to Pyne Gould Guinness Limited in 1979 following a successful restoration project. In 1929, the building became associated with James George Hanafin, who operated a chemist from property. In the 1980s, his descending relative Lawry Hanafin opened a photography store from the property, operating it for 30 years as one of the last tenants to run a business from the site. Despite being strengthened and well cared for, the Fisher's Building was badly damaged in the 2011 Christchurch earthquake. It was demolished in July 2011, with Hanafin watching the demolition. As of 2024, the site has remained empty and is used for car parking.

The Citizens' War Memorial (alternate: Soldiers' War Memorial) in Cathedral Square, Christchurch, is one of the two major memorials in the city to World War I. It is located immediately north of ChristChurch Cathedral. The annual Anzac Day service was held there until the February 2011 earthquake. It is a Category I heritage structure registered with Heritage New Zealand. In 2022, the memorial will be put back on display.

The Regent Theatre was a building in the corner of Worcester Street and Cathedral Square in Christchurch, New Zealand. After opening in 1905, its first primary tenant was the Royal Exchange Assurance Corporation, giving the building the name Royal Exchange Building at the time. In 1930, the interior was renovated and a cinema was added, giving the building the name Regent Theatre. In 1990, it was listed by Heritage New Zealand as a Category I historic place. It was damaged in the 2010 Canterbury and 2011 Christchurch earthquakes and was subsequently demolished.

The Crystal Palace, later also known as the Greater Crystal Palace, the All-British Theatre, and the Carlton Cinema, was a cinema in central city of Christchurch, New Zealand. The cinema stood in the north-west corner of Cathedral Square from its opening in 1918 to its demolition in March 1986. Te Pae Christchurch Convention Centre now has its southern footprint on this land.

Tūranga is the main public library in Christchurch, New Zealand. It opened on 12 October 2018 and replaced the nearby Christchurch Central Library that was closed on the day of the 2011 Christchurch earthquake.

City Mall is the main pedestrian mall in the central city of Christchurch, New Zealand, comprising two sections of Cashel Street plus the Bridge of Remembrance and one section of High Street. It is also known colloquially as Cashel Mall. The Bridge of Remembrance was pedestrianised in 1976. The main mall was closed to traffic on 11 January 1982 and formally reopened as a pedestrian mall on 7 August, but it was not until 1992 that the entire mall was paved. The mall was redeveloped between 2006 and 2009, and track was installed for an expansion of the heritage tram network. The September 2010 Canterbury earthquake caused damage to some buildings, but the Boxing Day aftershock, directly underneath the city, caused even more damage, including building failures. The 6.3 magnitude February 2011 Christchurch earthquake devastated the mall; the façades of many buildings collapsed and there were several fatalities. The centre of the city was subsequently closed to allow demolition work to proceed. Structures affected included most of the heritage buildings in the mall that are or were registered by Heritage New Zealand. Part of City Mall, the section of Cashel Street from Oxford Terrace to Colombo Street, was the first part of the central city to open again, on Saturday, 29 October 2011, marked by a ceremony at which the Prime Minister John Key officiated.

Scorpio Books is an independent bookstore in Christchurch, New Zealand. It was founded in 1976 by David Cameron, who changed the name of Pisces Books to match his and his wife Jane's astrological sign. Scorpio Books is one of the longest-running independent bookstores in New Zealand.