Iconic Malthouse opens

An iconic Christchurch heritage building opened up for tours for one day only as part of Heritage Week.

The 150-year-old stone Malthouse, on Colombo St, opened its doors to curious local residents on Saturday, many of whom had never known what was inside the impressive building.

It is home to hire shop Malthouse Costumes and the Canterbury Children’s Theatre, a volunteer group which puts on productions aimed at children.

Canterbury Children’s Theatre president Suzanne Rivers, who is also involved with the Malthouse Trust, said it was ‘‘a lovely, busy, buzzy place today’’.

‘‘Lots of people who had walked past a million times and never knew what was there … have gone away quite enthused.’’

The building was originally used as a malthouse when it was built in 1867, with barley grain spread on a higher level and germinated using heat from two furnaces on the lower level. The malted barley was used to make beer.

In the 1950s the building was repurposed as a seed merchants, before being bought by the Canterbury Children’s Theatre in 1965.

Now its home to the collection of costumes, a theatre space, and back rooms used for things such as make-up and costume repair or creation.

Rivers said offering the facility as a space for some community events was ‘‘in the pipeline’’ for next year.

Heritage Week events run throughout the region from 13 to 23 October.

The theme for this year is ‘‘Plains, Port Hills and Peninsula – Finding our Way’’.