Christ Church Cathedral's 1999 Earthquake Strengthening Proves Crucial

The sounds of the city are all around you here in Cathedral Square, but the Christ Church Cathedral itself has been quiet for a while. It's an Anglican cathedral in the central city of Christchurch, New Zealand. It was built between 1864 and 1904.

This building has been damaged by earthquakes multiple times, mostly the spire. There were earthquakes in 1881, 1888, 1901, 1922, and 2010. The February 2011 Christchurch earthquake actually destroyed the spire and the upper part of the tower, and the rest of the building was severely damaged. The lower part of the tower was taken down right after the 2011 earthquake to help with search and rescue. The rest of the tower was demolished in March 2012.

The west wall, which had the rose window, was badly damaged and partially collapsed in the June 2011 earthquake. It was damaged even more in the December 2011 earthquakes. The Anglican Church decided to demolish the building and replace it, but some groups opposed that plan and even took it to court.