Carte de visites by unknown photographers

Carte de visites by unknown photographers

James Blake's second
A1 Hotel
located on the south-east corner of Cashel and Colombo Street, about 1875 - 77
Architect
Isaac Martin Seigmund Jacobsen
died 6 July 1906

... the A1 Hotel, it may be stated that the present building, the main features of which are a low roof and a superfluity of gables, is about to be replaced by a very handsome hotel, designed by Mr Jacobsen. The Cashel Street front will be 49 feet and the Colombo Street 51 feet, the height of the walls to the top of the parapet being 29 feet.

A Grecian style of architecture has been adopted for the street elevations, and it has been so worked out as to produce a very excellent effect. On the ground-floor there are two doors and three sets of large plate-glass windows in Cashel Street, one set with door being so arranged that 14ft of the frontage may be let as a shop. There is a large door at the corner of the two streets leading into the public bar, and on the Colombo Street frontage there are two triple windows of plate glass, a double door, and two single plate glass windows beyond. On the upper floor there are five large plate glass windows looking into each street, flanked with pilasters and surmounted by pediments, a heavy cornice and handsome parapet marking the summit of the walls.

The cellarage will consist of an excavation 49 feet by 20 feet. On the ground floor there will be a public bar 23 feet by 14 feet, with three entrances, kitchen, larder, sitting room, hall, two bar parlors, and private bar, which is to be very elegantly fitted up with panel work and large mirrors on the London principle. On the upper floor, there will be a private sitting room, twelve bedrooms and a bathroom. All the party walls will be of brick, but the fronts elevation will be executed in wood. When the building is erected, it will make a great improvement in the appearance of this part of the city ... The Star, Issue 1611, 23 April 1873, Page 2

NEW BUILDINGS. - The A1 Hotel, which has a somewhat primitive appearance in comparison with some of its neighbours, is about to be replaced by a new and more pretentious structure, Mr Jacobsen being the architect. A tender for carrying out the work according to the plans prepared by Mr Jacobsen, and already described, has been accepted, and the contract is to be entered upon forthwith. The cost of the building will be considerably over £2,000. - The Star, 2 March 1874.

Mr Blake, of the A1 Hotel, has improved upon his original plan by adding another floor to it, thus making the building three storeys in height. This will increase the number of rooms to forty-seven, thirty of which will be used as bedrooms. The total cost of the new hotel - which has already been commenced - will be about £3000. - The Star, Issue 1927, 8 May 1874, Page 2

Benjamin Button, was charged with having neglected to keep a light burning, between sunset and sunrise, on a scaffolding erected by him in front of the A1 Hotel, Cashel street. Constable Beck proved that there was no light up to 11 o'clock, but he could not say whether there was afterwards or not. Accused said he thought the large lamp in front of the hotel would be sufficient up to 11 o'clock. His Worship said the law provided that persons having any timber erections outside buildings in the city should keep lights burning in front of them between sunset and sunrise, and it must be enforced. Accused would therefore be fined 10s. - The Star, Issue 2114, 17 December 1874, Page 2

W. Montgomery & Co
offices and warehouse with timber yard pictured beyond
corner of Colombo and Tuam Streets
about 1876
Architect
Samuel Charles Farr
1827-1918

City Improvements - A building, which may justly be termed a very desirable addition to the business premises in Christchurch, is about to be erected for Messrs Montgomery and Co., at the corner of Colombo and Tuam streets. Not only is it to be large and substantial, but judging by the plans prepared by Mr S. C. Farr, it will take a prominent place among the most ornamental structures of the City. The frontage on Colombo street is 50ft, and on Tuam street, 48ft. The total height to the top of the parapet being 45ft. There are three floors above extensive cellarage, and the building is to be erected of brick, on cement concrete foundations. The style of the front is that of modern street architecture, carefully and judiciously worked out. The projections are unusually bold, giving great relief, and as the whole of the exterior is to be stuccoed, many pleasing features have been introduced, notably at the main entrance, on either side of which there is a column supporting a pediment, in the panels of which there will be a large fan-shell ornament. The capitals of the columns are also of a new style, and no doubt will be much appreciated by those who take an interest in such matters. The upper cornice is supported on handsome brackets, and the parapet being perforated gives a much lighter appearance to the building. The internal arrangements for office and warehouse accommodation are very good. Each floor is approached by broad flights of stairs, and goods will be taken into the warehouses, at the back, by means of a patent hoist. - The Star, Issue 2496, 23 March 1876, Page 2

Worcester Street Bridge, Christchurch

Canterbury Provincial Council Buildings

The Bank of New Zealand - Temuka
Architect - William Barnett Armson

Bank of New Zealand.— We notice that the new premises, for the Bank of New Zealand, Temuka, are rapidly approaching completion. The building, which is two-storied, and composed of wood, has a commanding appearance.
Timaru Herald, Volume XXIV, Issue 1384, 4 April 1876, Page 6

The second Theatre Royal
located on the southern side of Gloucester Street East,
between Manchester and Colombo Streets about 1877.

Christchurch Hospital

from the Antigua Street foot bridge, to the right is the Benjamin Mountfort
designed Administration Building & Surgeon's Premises completed in 1875.

Identification and location of these buildings provided by
Canterbury Heritage

Christ Church Cathedral, Christchurch

Plans were commissioned from the pre-eminent English Gothic architect of the day, George Gilbert Scott, who never visited the city but left oversight to Robert Speechley. The foundation stone was solemnly laid on a wet day in 1864 but then lay abandoned for a decade, for lack of funds. In 1873 the resident architect, Benjamin Mountfort, was appointed and work restarted. Mountfort adapted the Scott design and added features of his own such as the tower balconies, west porch, font, pulpit and stained glass. In 1881, the nave or main body of the cathedral was completed and opened amid city-wide celebrations.

St Luke's Church, Christchurch

This church is sited at the corner of Manchester and Kilmore Streets on one of the five Church Reserves set aside by the Canterbury Association before the 1850 settlement. The architect chosen was George Mallison. The foundation stone was laid on St Luke's Day, 18th October 1858. Completed and opened on December 30 1860, extended and altered from plans drawn by Benjamin Mountfort in 1871, it was finally demolished in 1908.
(photographed after 1874 when the tower and spire were added)