The Repertory Theatre at 146 Kilmore Street was one of Christchurch’s most architecturally distinctive interwar buildings, a 1929 Spanish Mission structure originally built as the Radiant Hall and later the home of the Canterbury Repertory Theatre Society for over eighty years. Demolished following the 2011 Canterbury earthquake, the building hosted decades of theatrical and musical life including productions directed by Ngaio Marsh and performances by leading Christchurch folk, jazz, and indie acts.
The Rockpool has been a fixture of Christchurch’s central city since 1995, operating as a pool hall on the ground floor and Micky Finn’s Irish Pub — a live music venue — on the first floor. Closed following the 2011 Canterbury earthquakes and reopened in 2015, it remains one of the few pre-earthquake CBD venues still trading, billing itself as the only pub in Central City.
The New City Hotel at 527 Colombo Street has operated continuously in Christchurch since 1930, when Ballin Brothers commissioned architect John Steele Guthrie to design a Moderne-style building to house a liquor licence dating back to 1864. A survivor of the 2010–2011 Canterbury earthquakes, it remains the last traditional hotel operating in Christchurch's CBD and continues as a live music and entertainment venue.
The Southern Blues Bar at 198 Madras Street was a beloved Christchurch institution that grew from a musicians' club founded in the 1980s into one of the city's most distinctive live music venues. With a 24-hour licence and a clientele that ranged from bikies to librarians, it hosted international blues legends alongside a thriving local jam scene before being demolished in December 2010 following the September earthquake.
The Plainsman was a no-alcohol coffee lounge, steakhouse and music venue that operated from 1962 to 1972 at 110 Lichfield Street in central Christchurch. One of the city's most important musical venues of the beat era, it launched the careers of Ray Columbus, The Secrets, and Gary Thain — later of Uriah Heep — and hosted Dinah Lee, Chants R&B, and a young Johnny Farnham.
The Great Hall at the Christchurch Arts Centre is one of the oldest and most significant concert halls in Canterbury. Designed by Benjamin Mountfort in 1882 as College Hall for Canterbury College, it features Gothic Revival architecture with native timber panelling and a hammerbeam roof. Closed for earthquake restoration between 2011 and 2016, it reopened to international recognition and continues to host concerts, recitals, and events.
Warners Hotel at 50 Cathedral Square was one of Christchurch's most storied establishments, tracing its history from 1863 through to the February 2011 earthquake that led to its demolition. In the 1990s, its live music bar drew crowds of up to 800, hosting performances by Shihad, The Chills, Straitjacket Fits, Radiohead, and many of New Zealand's leading indie and rock acts.
