that no longer exists: the arts center and botanical garden in Christchurch, New Zealand.
The arts center was a huge Victorian stone building that I think had originally been a school. It was turned into artists' studios, an astronomical observatory, restaurants, a theatre for live performances and (I think) a separate movie theatre. You could wander through, talk to the people making wonderful carvings and woven things and paintings and buy some, and then you could walk across the street to the botanical garden, which was huge and beautiful, with flowers and trees from Britain as well as from New Zealand, really nicely laid out with walkable paths and good markers that talked about the species of plant and the age of this one. There was an oak tree that had been planted when Queen Victoria came to the throne; the trunk was well over 10' wide. Plants grow really well there because of all the rain they get. The people were friendly and helpful and interesting to talk to.
The Arts Center was destroyed by the earthquake that wrecked the city a few years ago; I don't even want to think what happened to that oak. I still dream about it sometimes.
Somewhere awesome...
The arts center was a huge Victorian stone building that I think had originally been a school. It was turned into artists' studios, an astronomical observatory, restaurants, a theatre for live performances and (I think) a separate movie theatre. You could wander through, talk to the people making wonderful carvings and woven things and paintings and buy some, and then you could walk across the street to the botanical garden, which was huge and beautiful, with flowers and trees from Britain as well as from New Zealand, really nicely laid out with walkable paths and good markers that talked about the species of plant and the age of this one. There was an oak tree that had been planted when Queen Victoria came to the throne; the trunk was well over 10' wide. Plants grow really well there because of all the rain they get. The people were friendly and helpful and interesting to talk to.
The Arts Center was destroyed by the earthquake that wrecked the city a few years ago; I don't even want to think what happened to that oak. I still dream about it sometimes.