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New Regent Street

New Regent Street
Looking North along New Regent Street in 2023
Map of Christchurch Central City
Map of Christchurch Central City
Location within the Christchurch Central City
General information
TypeTerrace shops
Architectural styleSpanish Mission architecture
LocationChristchurch Central City
AddressNew Regent Street
Town or cityChristchurch
CountryNew Zealand
Coordinates43°31′45.35″S 172°38′19.39″E / 43.5292639°S 172.6387194°E / -43.5292639; 172.6387194
Elevation9 m
Current tenants40 buildings individually tenanted
Construction started1931
Completed1 April 1932
Renovated2012/13
ClientArthur Francis Stacey (1888–1952) for Regent Street Ltd
Owner40 buildings individually owned
Technical details
Floor counttwo
Design and construction
Architect(s)Francis Willis
Main contractorP. Graham and Son, Limited
Designated28 June 1990
Reference no.4385
References
"New Regent Street Terrace Shops". New Zealand Heritage List/Rārangi Kōrero. Heritage New Zealand. Retrieved 27 February 2016.

New Regent Street is a pedestrian mall in Christchurch. Built as a private development in the early 1930s with 40 shops in Spanish Mission architectural style, it is one of the city's major tourist attractions. Providing a number of small shops as a comprehensive development was an advanced idea at the time, and New Regent Street is regarded as a forerunner to modern shopping malls. Due to its coherent architectural character, the buildings in the streets are listed as Category I heritage items by Heritage New Zealand, and in addition, the entire street has a historic area listing. The street was pedestrianised in 1994 in preparation for the introduction of the Christchurch heritage tram, which began operation in February 1995. Damaged in the February 2011 Christchurch earthquake, the street and buildings reopened in April 2013, and the tram returned from November of that year. Following the 2016 Valentine's Day earthquake, five of the buildings that had not been repaired after the previous earthquakes have been cordoned off, which stopped the tram from operating on its original heritage loop until May.