In 1853, Henry Sewell, a member of the Canterbury Association wrote:
We have sketched out in our imagination a handsome central street running through the city, terminated at one end by the college and its gardens - at the other, the Cathedral in the central square.
One hundred and forty years later, this vision was finally realised, with the completion of a three stage redevelopment programme to convert Worcester Street into the Worcester Boulevard. This included tree planting, repaving, special lighting, restrictions on traffic and the addition of an historic electric tram line, forming part of the heritage "Christchurch Tramway" opened in February 1995.
The Worcester Boulevard is designed to fully enhance the original intentions of the Canterbury Association and provide an appropriate setting for Henry Sewell’s vision.
Related pages
Sources
This was originally derived from the Christchurch City Council handbook of 1998.
