Warner's Hotel

Warner's Hotel in 50 Cathedral Square, Christchurch is the site of a hotel established in 1863. The original building, extended on numerous occasions, burned down in 1900. A new building was built in 1901. Again, it underwent numerous alterations. A fourth storey was added in 1910 and the northern end of the building was demolished in 1917 and a theatre built in its place to create a noise buffer to the printing presses of the adjoining Lyttelton Times Building. The theatre was demolished in 1996 and patrons enjoyed a beer garden. In 2010, a high-rise Novotel hotel opened on the site of the beer garden and in the process, the historical and symmetrical 1901 façade was recreated. Warner's Hotel was recognised as a Category II heritage building by the New Zealand Historic Places Trust, with registration number 7384. Subsequent to the February 2011 Christchurch earthquake, the historic part of the building was demolished in late 2011. The owner has consent for rebuilding the hotel, but has cited uncertainty over other large projects nearby for the reason of not going ahead yet.