Lyttelton Times Building

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File:Lyttelton Times Building, 1903 or 1904.jpg

The Lyttelton Times was devised by the Canterbury Association as part of the planned settlement of Canterbury.{{cite web|title=Prospectus of Newspaper|url=http://christchurchcitylibraries.com/Heritage/Newspapers/LytteltonTimes/Pages/Prospectus.asp|publisher=Christchurch City Libraries|accessdate=2 April 2011}} After arrival in mid December 1850, the first edition of the newspaper was published on 11 January 1851.{{cite book|title=The Cyclopedia of New Zealand : Canterbury Provincial District|year=1903|publisher=Cyclopedia Company Limited| location=Christchurch| pages=236–237|url= https://nzetc.victoria.ac.nz/tm/scholarly/tei-Cyc03Cycl-t1-body1-d3-d24-d1.html |accessdate=1 April 2011}}{{cite web|title=About the Lyttelton Times - January 11, 1851|url = http://christchurchcitylibraries.com/Heritage/Newspapers/LytteltonTimes/About/index.asp |publisher=Christchurch City Libraries|accessdate=1 April 2011}} From its initial location in the port town, Lyttelton, the newspaper moved its headquarters to the larger market of Christchurch in 1863.{{NZHPT|7216|Lyttelton Times Building|2 April 2011}} Its main competitor, The Press, had established itself in Christchurch in 1861.{{NZHPT|302|The Press Building|2 April 2011}}

File:Lyttelton Times Building, 1902.jpg

The site that the Lyttelton Times had occupied in Gloucester Street with an agency since the 1850s extended through to Cathedral Square. A two-storey wooden building was erected on the Cathedral Square frontage when the headquarters moved from Lyttelton.{{cite web|last=May|first=Jenny|title=Uncertain Future For City Landmarks|url=http://archived.ccc.govt.nz/ourenvironment/15/land.asp|publisher=Christchurch City Council|accessdate=2 April 2011}} Further growth necessitated bigger premises, and what is now known as the Star Building was built on the Gloucester Street frontage in 1884.{{NZHPT|3731|Lyttelton Times Building|2 April 2011}} Growth continued, and Sidney and Alfred Luttrell were commissioned in 1902 to design a new building for the Cathedral Square frontage.

The Luttrell brothers had only recently come to Christchurch from Tasmania. The Lyttelton Times Building was their first major commission, and established them as architects and building contractors. They used the Chicago School architectural style for the design, and that was the first time that this was applied by them in New Zealand. While they employed the appearance of the façade of this style, they did not employ the structural system of an internal steel frame, but they relied on load bearing walls. With their later commissions, Manchester Courts in Christchurch and Consultancy House in Dunedin, both for the New Zealand Express Company, they came closer to using the structural design of the Chicago School. Construction of the Lyttelton Times Building started in ca 1902, and the building was finished in 1904. At the time, it was the tallest building in Cathedral Square besides the tower of ChristChurch Cathedral itself.

Initially, some of the rooms in the building were used by the adjacent Warner's Hotel, built in 1901 after the previous hotel burned down. The association with Warner's did not last long, as patrons were kept awake at night by the printing presses in the building. In fact, the noise environment was bad enough in Warner's Hotel itself, and the northern end of the hotel, which adjoined the Lyttelton Times Building, was removed in 1917 and the gap filled with the Liberty Theatre (later called the Savoy).{{NZHPT|7384|Warner's Hotel|2 April 2011}}

The Lyttelton Times changed its name to Christchurch Times in 1929, and in 1935, production of that newspaper folded owing to intense competition, with two morning papers and two evening papers being published in Christchurch at that time. The Press, which is still published today, took the morning newspaper market. The Lyttelton Times Company was renamed to New Zealand Newspapers Ltd and published the Star-Sun as an evening paper, as a continuation of their evening paper The Star, which had been published since 1868. Production of the Star-Sun continued in the building until 1958, when the newspaper shifted to premises in Kilmore Street and changed its name again to The Star. It is still published in Christchurch on Wednesdays and Fridays as a free newspaper.{{cite web|title=About us| url= http://www.starcanterbury.co.nz/aboutus/ |work=The Star|accessdate=1 April 2011}}

In 1994, the building was registered as a heritage building by the New Zealand Historic Places Trust (NZHPT). In 1997, the owner of the Star Building, the Lyttelton Times Building and Warner's Hotel applied for demolition consent. At the time, only the Lyttelton Times Building was registered with the NZHPT. The hearing's commissioner, Bob Batty, granted permission for the Lyttelton Times Building to be demolished, declined the request for Warner's Hotel, and granted permission to demolish the Star Building, but its façade had to be kept. The Environment Court overturned the demolition consent, and the Lyttelton Times Building was purchased by the Christchurch Heritage Trust, which turned the building into a backpackers' hostel and a restaurant.

Following the February 2011 Christchurch earthquake, the Lyttelton Times Building was as of 2 April 2011 not on the list of buildings to be demolished.{{cite news |last=Lynch |first=Keith |title=More than 128 Christchurch buildings face demolition |url= http://www.stuff.co.nz/the-press/news/christchurch-earthquake-2011/4838607/More-than-128-Christchurch-buildings-face-demolition |accessdate=2 April 2011|newspaper=The Press |date=2 April 2011}}{{cite news |last=Lynch |first=Keith |title=Damaged Buildings |page=A2 |newspaper=The Press |date=2 April 2011}} In August 2011, it was reported that the building has been demolished.{{cite news|last=Wood|first=Alan|title=Moves afoot to reopen Marque in March|url=http://www.stuff.co.nz/the-press/business/christchurch-business/5496503/Moves-afoot-to-reopen-Marque-in-March|accessdate=25 August 2011|newspaper=The Press |date=24 August 2011|page=A13}} The historic part of Warner's Hotel is understood to also needing demolition,{{cite news|last=Heather |first=Ben |title=Landlords may be forced to sell at loss|newspaper=The Press |date=19 May 2011|page=A3}} while the adjacent The Press Building was demolished in July 2011.{{cite news|last=Wright|first=Michael |title=Bid to save heritage pieces|url= http://www.stuff.co.nz/the-press/news/christchurch-earthquake-2011/5333194/Bid-to-save-heritage-pieces |accessdate= 28 July 2011|newspaper=The Press |date=25 July 2011|page=A3}}

On 16 December 1994, the building was registered by the New Zealand Historic Places Trust as a Category I historic place, with the registration number 7216. The Lyttelton Times Building in contemporary Chicago School architectural style is located in the same quadrant of Cathedral Square as The Press Building, and the two façades represent the two different newspaper styles, with The Press being regarded as the more conservative newspaper. The Lyttelton Times Building is part of the largest surviving group of heritage buildings in Cathedral Square. It introduced the Chicago School architectural style to Christchurch, and it was the first major commission for the Luttrell brothers, starting their New Zealand career.

The newspaper is an important part of the New Zealand history, often expressing a liberal view. Examples are the support of the trade unions in the lead up to the 1890 maritime strike, which swept across to New Zealand from Australia. Notable liberal politicians worked for the newspaper as editors, including William Reeves and his son William Pember Reeves.

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Category:Commercial buildings completed in 1904

Category:Heritage New Zealand Category 1 historic places in the Canterbury Region

Category:Buildings and structures in Christchurch

Category:Buildings and structures demolished as a result of the 2011 Christchurch earthquake

Category:1900s architecture in New Zealand

Category:Chicago school architecture in New Zealand

Category:Cathedral Square, Christchurch

Category:Sidney and Alfred Luttrell buildings