Sneak peek inside the Canterbury Provincial Council Buildings

Want to take a look at the inside of one of the city’s earthquake-damaged heritage buildings?

Then check out our peek behind the curtain of the Canterbury Provincial Council Buildings.

Ticket holders are getting a tour of the building on the corner of Armagh, Gloucester and Durham Streets on May 6 and 7 as part of the Open Christchurch architecture festival.

It will be the first time the public has been able to get inside the building since it was extensively damaged in the 2011 earthquake.

The Canterbury Provincial Council Buildings are the only purpose-built provincial government buildings still standing in New Zealand. The timber and stone buildings were built between 1858 and 1865 and were designed by architecture Benjamin Woolfield Mountfort.

While stabilisation and weatherproofing has been completed, the building remains damaged from the 2011 earthquake. Corrugated protection has replaced the detailed stone towers on Armagh and Durham streets.