A number of buildings in the city have been under threat of demolition at some time in their history.
Surprisingly many buildings which we now regard as Christchurch icons have had an uncertain future at some stage, including the Canterbury Provincial Council Buildings, the former Canterbury College buildings (now the Arts Centre), the former Christchurch Girls High School (now the Cranmer Centre) and Warner's Hotel.
In many cases public outcry and lobbying by interested groups plays a significant role in ensuring buildings remain standing. In other cases, it is the personal and financial contribution of private owners and property developers that saves the day.
To raise awareness of these positive heritage outcomes, Council Heritage staff have, since the mid 1990s, contributed regular articles in the Council's quarterly publication, the Our Environment newsletter (re-named Our City in 2003) about heritage buildings that have survived the threat of demolition.
This section of the newsletter is called “Still Standing”. A selection of these articles can be viewed below.
Still Standing
