List of tallest buildings in Christchurch facts for kids

This picture shows 43 of the 54 tall buildings in Christchurch, with colors showing their status as of December 2020.

This article lists the tallest buildings in Christchurch, New Zealand. It ranks them by how tall they are.

The first tall building in Christchurch was Manchester Courts. It was the city's tallest from 1906 until 1967. Sadly, Manchester Courts was torn down after the 2010 Canterbury earthquake. Six other buildings have also been the tallest in Christchurch over time.

Today, the tallest building is the Pacific Tower. It was finished in 2010 and stands about 86.5 meters (284 feet) tall. Many tall buildings were destroyed after the February 2011 Christchurch earthquake. This was one of the worst events ever for tall building destruction.

Out of 54 tall buildings listed before the earthquakes, 18 are still standing. The other 36 have been torn down.

What is a Tall Building?

This list includes buildings in Christchurch that are at least 35 meters (115 feet) tall. We measure their height from the ground to the very top, including spires and other parts of the building's design. We do not count antenna masts.

Manchester Courts, also known as the MLC Building, was Christchurch's first tall office building. It was built in 1905–1906 for a company called New Zealand Express. At that time, it was the tallest office building in the city. It was a very old and important building, but it was badly damaged in the 2010 Canterbury earthquake. It had to be torn down, which started in October 2010 and finished in February 2011.

This is the Grand Chancellor building, seen from Cashel Street just after the February 2011 earthquake.

This is an aerial view of central Christchurch in July 2012. You can see many earthquake-damaged tall buildings still standing. Manchester Street is at the bottom.

The BNZ Building in Cathedral Square has a long history. It replaced an older BNZ Building from 1866. The new building started in 1961 as a four-story design. Work stopped in 1963 when the bank decided to rebuild the whole area. The new 51-meter (167-foot) tall building was finished in 1967.

Since 2007, only three new tall buildings have been built in Christchurch:

• The HSBC Tower in Worcester Boulevard.
• The Novotel Hotel in Cathedral Square.
• The Pacific Tower in Gloucester Street.

All three of these buildings survived the earthquakes. The HSBC Tower was the first tall building to reopen after the February 2011 earthquake, in May 2011. The Canterbury Earthquake Recovery Authority even had its main office on the top floors! Pacific Tower reopened in May 2013, and the Novotel Hotel reopened in August 2013.

Radio Network House, a 14-story building finished in 1986, was torn down using explosives on August 5, 2012. This was the first time a building in New Zealand was taken down this way.

The Clarendon Tower was built on the site of an old hotel. It kept most of the old hotel's front, which was a new idea in Christchurch. This 17-story building was built in 1986–1987. It was badly damaged in the February 2011 earthquake. Its inside stairs fell apart, and the building actually bulged out in the middle!

In three tall buildings, the inside staircases collapsed, trapping people:

• Hotel Grand Chancellor
• Forsyth Barr House
• Clarendon Tower

The staircases in the Grand Chancellor and Clarendon Tower only partly collapsed. But in Forsyth Barr House, both staircases fell from the 14th floor down. Forsyth Barr House was later sold and turned into a hotel.

Tallest Buildings in Christchurch

Color Key      Building that is still standing after the earthquakes      Building that still needs to be fixed      Building that has been torn down since the earthquakes      New building that was built recently      Building that is currently being built

Current Tallest Buildings

This table lists the tallest buildings in Christchurch today.

Tallest Buildings Before the February 2011 Earthquake

This table shows the tallest buildings in Christchurch just before the big earthquake in February 2011.

Future Tall Buildings

This table shows some tall buildings that are planned or being built in Christchurch.

Timeline of Tallest Buildings

This list shows the history of the tallest buildings in Christchurch. It shows which building was the tallest at different times.

     Building that is still standing after the earthquakes      Building that has been torn down since the earthquakes

Name	Image	Years as tallest	Height m / feet	Reference
Manchester Courts		1906–1967	39.6 m (130 ft)
BNZ Building		1967–1973	51 m (167 ft)
Christchurch Central Police Station		1973–1974	52 m (171 ft)
James Hight Building		1974–1975	53 m (174 ft)
Rydges Hotel (was Noah's)		1975–1986	60 m (200 ft)
Hotel Grand Chancellor		1986–2010	85 m (279 ft)
Pacific Tower		2010–present	86.5 m (284 ft)

See also

• List of tallest structures in New Zealand
• List of tallest buildings in Auckland
• List of tallest buildings in Wellington
• Twinkle Toes
• List of tallest buildings in Oceania