Cathedral demolition Christchurch NZ
Work on the demolition of the historic Cathedral of the Blessed Sacrament, in central Christchurch, commenced in September and is expected to take up to a year to finish.
Completed in 1905, the Catholic Cathedral on Barbadoes St, was closed after being damaged in the September 2010 earthquakes and received further more substantial damage in the February 2011 earthquakes.
Speaking on September 1, 2020 the Catholic Bishop of Christchurch, Paul Martin, said even though the decision to demolish the cathedral was made a year ago there was still sadness in seeing the building being demolished.
‘Work will commence from the eastern or rear end of the building, firstly removing the unstable arches and other highly hazardous elements. The roof and other high and overhead elements will follow as they form significant hazards.
‘Work on the cathedral will progress towards the west with the Barbadoes St frontage being the last area demolished. Original public domain image from Flickr