Municipal Chambers, Oxford Terrace (Our City O-Tautahi)
This distinctive "Queen Anne" style building at the corner of Oxford Terrace and Worcester Street was erected in 1887 as the former Christchurch City Council Chambers and functioned as the centre of local government until 1924. It remains in City Council ownership.
Samuel Hurst Seager, a major contributor to Canterbury's architectural development, established his reputation by winning the competition held by the City Council for the design of this building. Newly returned from completing his architectural training in London, Seager introduced to Christchurch the eclectic blending of Gothic, Elizabethan and Dutch motifs that characterise this style.
The three storied red brick and stone building presents four different facades featuring a complementary but varied range of surface decoration. Reflecting the Arts and Crafts movement's concern for finely crafted detail, Seager used cut, moulded and coloured bricks along with patterned terracotta panels to give rich ornamentation to the exterior, including the sculpted figures of Industry and Concord sculpted by noted English sculptor, Sir George Frampton. Randomly placed windows reflect the interior arrangement of the rooms. The interior, though less lavishly decorated, demonstrates similar concerns especially evident in the timber craftsmanship of the stairway. Of prime importance in the context of Christchurch local government history, and as one of New Zealand's best examples of this style, it has a key place in our architectural history.
The building was occupied by the by the Canterbury Chamber of Commerce from 192?2 until 1987. Part of the space was sub-leased to the Canterbury Promotion Council and the Christchurch Tourist Information Centre which occupied the building until October 2000.
Our City O-tautahi was officially opened in July 2002.
More information
Sources
This was originally derived from the Christchurch City Council handbook of 1998.
