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CITY MALL UPGRADE - Stewart Plaza
The Stewart Plaza area is listed as a reserve and has taken many forms over the years. Originally the area was home to trams and horses, then in the 70s a flower garden (shown in the photos below). Later, the first Stewart fountain was erected then demolished and replaced with another fountain. In this recent renovation, the Stewart Plaza fountain was removed and community seating put in its place.
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The Stewart Plaza 1912
You can see the old trams and tram lones
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The Stewart Plaza 1970's
The Garden showed the Trainlge reserve
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The Stewart Plaza 2007
The Stewart Fountain just prior demolition
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The Stewart Plaza 2007
The demolition starts
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Stewart Fountain Tiles
The Stewart fountain had tiles laid into two of its faces. 70% of the tiles were recovered intact and many were reclaimed by the children or families of the children who painted them.
The remaining tiles, whether whole or broken, will be used in a yet-to-be decided artwork somewhere in the city.
Below are photo's showing the various stages of construction through to the finish.
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The new Flour Power sculpture in Stewart Plaza
Flour Power, by Regan Gentry is the first new public sculpture to be commissioned by the Christchurch City Council’s Public Art Advisory Group. Funding for the work has been made available from the Council’s Public Art Fund and a substantial donation from Adrienne, Lady Stewart and the Estate of the late Sir Robertson Stewart.
Below are photo's showing the construction of the Flour Power Sculpture.
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Flour Power sculpture in Stewart Plaza
Flour Power is an impressive artistic statement; distinctive for both its formal qualities and commentary on the changing nature of New Zealand cities. As Gentry describes, “In Canterbury, fields of crops have given way to fields of houses. Rows of wheat have been replaced by rows of streetlights. Farm tractors have grown smaller and multiplied exponentially, growing sleeker and faster, modified to ‘pull chicks’ instead of ploughs.”
Adrienne, Lady Stewart says, “the funding support confirms this city’s commitment to develop quality public artworks. Flour Power will have a striking presence in Stewart Plaza, a site which has seen various artworks come and go over the years.”
Flour Power, by Regan Gentry
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