The damaged Cathedral of the Blessed Sacrament, seen from the south side. Large cracks are visible below the dome.
The damaged Cathedral of the Blessed Sacrament, seen from the south side. Large cracks are visible below the dome.
Damage to the Cathedral of the Blessed Sacrament. A large crack and fallen stonework are visible under the dome.
The damaged Cathedral of the Blessed Sacrament, seen from the north side. Large cracks are visible below the dome.
A photograph submitted by Raymond Morris to the QuakeStories website. The description reads, "Cathedral of the Blessed Sacrament, Barbadoes Street. The Cathedral was opened in 1905, the architect was Frank Petrie, and was designed in the Italian renaissance style as a basilica. It is not certain yet whether it will be reconstructed after the 2011 earthquakes.".
To those silent sentinels, the guardians of the night, who insured our peaceful homes and sheltered our children from fright. We give our thanks and praise for the sacrifice they bore, and pledge always to remember their gift of service in war. Gerard A. Geiger March 23, 1996
The damaged Cathedral of the Blessed Sacrament. The tower on the north-west corner of the building has partially collapsed.
Damage to the Cathedral of the Blessed Sacrament. Flowers have been put on the fence in front of the cathedral.
Damage to Cathedral of the Blessed Sacrament. A member of the public looks through the fences with diggers at work.
The damaged Cathedral of the Blessed Sacrament. The corner towers on the west side of the building have partially collapsed.
The damaged Cathedral of the Blessed Sacrament. The corner towers on the west side of the building have partially collapsed.
Damage to the Cathedral of the Blessed Sacrament. Detail of a photograph of the cathedral taken prior to the earthquakes.
A pdf copy of panel 14 of Guy Frederick's 'The Space Between Words' exhibition. The panel includes text from an interview with Gerard Smythe about his experiences of the 2010 and 2011 Canterbury earthquakes. Above this is an image of Smythe sitting outside the Cathedral of the Blessed Sacrament.
A photograph of the earthquake-damaged Cathedral of the Blessed Sacrament on Barbadoes Street. Rubble from the collapsed tower is lying on the ground in front. A car has been crushed under this rubble. Wire fencing, shipping containers, and road cones have been placed around the building as a cordon.
A photograph of the earthquake-damaged Cathedral of the Blessed Sacrament on Barbadoes Street. Rubble from the collapsed tower is lying on the ground in front. A car has been crushed under this rubble. Wire fencing, shipping containers, and road cones have been placed around the building as a cordon.
A photograph of the earthquake-damaged Cathedral of the Blessed Sacrament on Barbadoes Street. Rubble from the collapsed tower is lying on the ground in front. A car has been crushed under this rubble. Wire fencing, shipping containers, and road cones have been placed around the building as a cordon.
Photograph captioned by BeckerFraserPhotos, "The Hotel Grand Chancellor taken from Barbadoes Street by the Cathedral of the Blessed Sacrament".
A new exhibition showcases relics found underneath Christchurch's Cathedral of the Blessed Sacrament, which was badly damaged in the Christchurch earthquakes.
Damage to the Cathedral of the Blessed Sacrament. On the fence is a photograph of what the cathedral looked like before the earthquake.
Damage to the Cathedral of the Blessed Sacrament. Extensive damage can be seen on the north-west and south-west corners of the building.
Parish priest of St Anne's Woolston, Christchurch, and Administrator of the Cathedral of the Blessed Sacrament which was partially destroyed during the February earthquake.
Damage to the Cathedral of the Blessed Sacrament. The towers on the corners have partially collapsed, and shipping containers support one side of the building.
Damage to the Cathedral of the Blessed Sacrament. The towers on the corners have partially collapsed, and shipping containers support one side of the building.
Damage to the Cathedral of the Blessed Sacrament. The towers on the corners have partially collapsed, and shipping containers support one side of the building.
A photograph of the damaged Music Centre of Christchurch.
The Catholic Cathedral of the Blessed Sacrament is a category 1 listed heritage building constructed largely of unreinforced stone masonry, and was significantly damaged in the recent Canterbury earthquakes. The building experienced ground shaking in excess of its capacity leading to block failures and partial collapse of parts of the building, which left the building standing but still posing a significant hazard. In this paper we discuss the approach to securing the building, and the interaction of the structural, heritage and safety demands involved in a dynamic seismic risk environment. We briefly cover the types of failures observed and the behaviour of the structure, and investigate the performance of both strengthened and un-strengthened parts of the building. Seismic strengthening options are investigated at a conceptual level. We draw conclusions as to how the building performed in the earthquakes, comment on the effectiveness of the strengthening and securing work and discuss the potential seismic strengthening methods.
A video about the experiences of church goers after the 4 September 2010 earthquake. Many of the congregations have had to find temporary facilities after the earthquake damaged their churches. The video includes an interview with Bishop Barry Jones from the Roman Catholic Church. Jones talks about the miracle that nobody died in the earthquake.
A photograph submitted by Jamie Mackay to the QuakeStories website. The description reads, "Containers used to hold up the Cathedral of the Blessed Sacrament, 3 June 2011".
Damage to the Cathedral of the Blessed Sacrament. Looking through the fence on to the side and front where shipping containers are being used to support the walls.
Damage to the Cathedral of the Blessed Sacrament. Looking through the fence on to the side and front where shipping containers are being used to support the walls.