Public get a taste of reopened town hall
The atmosphere before the Christchurch Town Hall’s public opening felt more like the wait for one of the concerts the newlyrefurbished building will soon hold.
People started queueing behind temporary fences from about 9am, while security guards wandered around the outside keeping an eye on the hundreds of waiting people.
Saturday’s opening was the public’s first chance to experience the controversial $167 million restoration – a price tag almost one-third over its original budget of $127.5m. Just $68.m is covered by insurance.
Joy Ryan-Bloore was there when the Town Hall first opened in 1972. She said the reopening on Saturday felt like coming home.
In 1972, Ryan-Bloore was a teacher at Saint Mary’s College. She said every secondary school in the city had a part to learn in the Hallelujah Chorus from Handel’s Messiah, and the schools came together to sing it at the opening with the New Zealand Army Band.
She said the stunning restoration was one of the most significant events in the city’s recovery, and ‘‘beyond value for money’’. ‘‘This is the sort of building that you can’t put a price on because it represents so much more than something material. This is the heart and soul of the city.’’
Ryan-Bloore said she was very grateful for the courage and vision of Sir Bob Parker and his council for committing to the restoration, and to incumbent mayor Lianne Dalziel and the present council for bringing it to completion. Dr Robyn Hewland was also at the opening in 1972, and came on Saturday holding a copy of a flyer from the original opening. She said the Town Hall would bring people together because it was central and would be used frequently.
Hewland said going ahead with restoration ‘‘couldn’t have been an easy decision’’ because of the cost. She remembered the decision to build the Town Hall in the first place was not easy for the same reason.
Gerald Oliver played in the Christchurch Symphony Orchestra (CSO) in the auditorium soon after it opened in 1972. He played double bass with the Resonance Ensemble there on yesterday as part of the opening weekend.
Oliver said it would be interesting to hear what the sound was like from the stage, but said it was hard to tell until the auditorium was full.
Dalziel said the result of the restoration was ‘‘a building that contains all of its original character and style, but is stronger and better equipped to again play its role at the heart of our civic and cultural life’’.
Saturday’s open day let people tour the Douglas Lilburn Auditorium along with the the Avon Room, formerly the Boaters Restaurant, and the Limes Room.
The whole Town Hall complex will not be open this month. The James Hay Theatre will reopen in April, the CSO’s new headquarters will be complete in May and the whole complex will be restored by August. The first concert in the main auditorium is scheduled for March 1, with Christchurch band Shapeshifter performing with the CSO.