A decrepit old wooden villa on Kilmore Street occupied primarily by Michael Boulden (who used the space as a recording studio / video editing office) and professional musician Simon Nunn, whilst other musicians (including The Pickups / Terror of the Deeps William Daymond) came and went over the years – taking advantage of the 6 rooms and ridiculously cheap $200 rent.
The Harbour Light Theatre was thought to have been designed by J.S. and M. J. Guthrie and purpose-built as a picture house and theatre for the Lyttelton Picture Company. It could seat 550 people in both stalls and circle. The front of the building was two storeys high, with a mezzanine floor, and two decorative brick towers topped with spherical domes on either side. The entry was framed by large Tuscan columns, with quoin stones on the corners of the building. The material of the building was mostly brick with a stucco finish on the facade painted white in the “California style”. The entrance featured an art nouveau style etching of a pattern above the verandah roof.
The Gladstone has the doubtful distinction of being the last hotel in Christchurch to host a post mortem. The examination was carried out in July of 1901 by a Dr. William Diamond, who told the coroner that there was extreme difficulty working in such cramped and unsuitable quarters as those provided by a hotel and he sincerely hoped that something would be done about it soon. His wish was granted, for on that very day the eminent architect Mr. S Hurst-Seager, designer of the new morgue, had handed the keys to the completed building to the City Council.
Old and dilapidated wooden villa on Madras Street that functioned as a rather excellent venue for house parties and all-age events for a few years prior to the Canterbury Earthquakes in 2010 / 2011.
Occupied by a variety of individuals connected to Christchurch live music, student radio (RDU) and all-ages (Red Panda) scenes, the house was opened up for day time shows on the front-lawn or in the living room.
Multi-use space on St Asaph Street, opposite the established Darkroom bar. With Doki Hair Saloon at the front, and running during the day as Kadett Cafe, Space Academy is a lively, spacious live music venue and bar from 4pm – 11pm every Tuesday till Saturday.
Location: 25 Wakefield Ave, Sumner Current Status: Running! Active as a live music venue: 2001 – Bookings: Email Fuse Website: Fuse Website Capacity: Around 80? Fuse Youth Cafe is Christian-focused Youth Centre in Sumner that regularly hosts events for teens and even… Read More »Fuse Youth Cafe
Location: 299 Selwyn Street, Spreydon Current Status: Demolished post-earthquake Active as a live music venue: 2000’s Bar Manager: Andrew ‘Ox’ O’Connell Capacity: About 20 All-Ages: Yes Notorious local rock’n’roll vocalist and Downhill Mountain Bike clothing entrepreneur Andrew ‘Ox’ O’Connell ran… Read More »Rockstar Clothing
Now a restaurant and bar and originally constructed as a craft brewery, the Brewery functioned as a live music venue at a time when there were few operating in Christchurch – immediately after the February 2011 earthquakes.
A large, narrow venue with good food and a fair amount of outside seating, the Brewery has also been a popular spot for regular quiz nights and other events.
Biography The Provincial Lounge was a traditional Kiwi Tavern with a long history: The license for the hotel was granted to Robert Wagner on 1 May 1865. During the earlier years there were two licenses, one for the hotel and… Read More »Provincial Lounge
Biography Ya-Ya was a popular, mellow place to hang-out. Though it only ran for a couple years in Poplar lanes, it managed to house at least one Craftwerk – a super-fun regular event show-casing live bands along with hand-made crafts,… Read More »Goodbye Blue Monday
NOTE: This post probably contains quite a few errors and an inaccurate timeline – there is very little info online about old Christchurch venues, so I welcome all corrections and additions! Biography Large 3-room warehouse-style nightclub on Lichfield Street –… Read More »Ministry Nightclub
NOTE: This post probably contains quite a few errors and an inaccurate timeline – there is very little info online about old Christchurch venues, so I welcome all corrections and additions! Also known as: Midday Theatre, Alska Theatre Location: Westpac Lane,… Read More »Lumière Theatre
Note: This is a work in progress and will have additional content added both in the Map (i.e. venue images) or in the body of this post (i.e. a list of the venues in questioned, grouped by status etc). Feel… Read More »Christchurch Venue Map
A former plastic manufacturing business located in industrial Philipstown, All Plastics was originally leased by Nick O’Keefe of The Undercurrents some time in the 2000’s. O’Keefe, along with his band members (which included local sound-men Marcus Winstanley and Mikey Summerfield, plus Phantom Billstickers’ Jamey Holloway) began using the site as a recording studio and practice space.
Several house-party type shows were put on both inside and outside the studio space, before the last occupant (Rhett Copland of Doctors etc) left around 2013.
Mid-sized live performance and comedy venue located within The Archive a building which has also housed a Gallery / 2nd venue space and front record store.