Jun 21, 2009

The Third Worcester Street Bridge


LARGE IMAGE OPENS IN A NEW TAB OR WINDOW

Among the harder nuts to crack sent to us for identification by Steven McLachlan of the Shades Stamp Shop was this circa 1877 northerly aspect of the third Worcester Street bridge.

Built in 1869, it was replaced in 1885 by the current bridge. To the far Right can just be glimpsed the back of the Canterbury Assocition's 1850 Lands Office (subsequently the first premises of the Christchurch City Council). To the Right foreground is the fence of the Council's yard. Originally designated as the site for a municipal library, it's now the location of the Captain Robert Falcon Scott statue and the surrounding ornamental garden.


The photograph is dated to approximately 1877 by the telegraph pole just visible at the eastern end of the bridge, which was subsequently fitted with cross trees and cables in 1878 (above).


A similar view in the Winter of 2009

2 comments:

Anonymous said...

Well done indeed. I didn't think of the Worcester St Bridge but your sleuthing certainly is top class.

Kind regards
Steven

Marcus Castell said...

Thanks Steven, the greater the challenge, the more pleasurable is the sleuthing. But as the approach of the tenth thousand historic photograph to enter the geo-tagged archive nears, getting to know Christchurch intimately in the fourth dimensional sense affords a deepening perspective that may not be enjoyed by many of our city's historians (the photo archive also makes an interesting screensaver :)