Haven’t been into the city for a while so thought it time for a check on progress – I think that’s what it is called!!

Still looking very sad and empty, but I took at few record shots and like this set around Victoria Square best – maybe because it looks ‘normal’ and tidy.

The building being deconstructed is the Copthorne Hotel on Colombo St, opposite Victoria Park (taken from the Manchester St bridge).

The archways are taken looking toward Victoria Square from the site of the old Park Royal (renamed Crown Plaza, and now the temporary location of the Pallet Pavillion) .

The statue of Queen Victoria is the reverse shot looking back – the blue in the background is the Pallet Pavillion, one of many ‘gap fillers’ throughout the city. The ideas and art work are great, but the rubble around them, unfortunately, is not.

Good news though – [url=http://www.blipfoto.com/entry/3429549]The Bull[/url] is to be reassembled in his new home in front of the Art Gallery. He can stay in Christchurch because sufficient funds were raised from public donations, before the end of September. Brilliant 🙂

Edit: This afternoon this hotel pancaked and collapsed leaving demolition workers running for their lives and everyone in the area thinking it was another earthquake. Fortunately no one was badly hurt, just very shaken, but they must have been very lucky. There was a big event in a new gap filler a short distance away (to the right of the tall building in the archway photo), so the people there would be very frightened as they would hear the noise, and feel the ground shake, but not necessarily know what or where it was. Scary stuff!!