Ode to Christchurch

Howdy folks! I'm headed back to Antarctica for my third visit, and it

is good to be back bloging. I'm writing this first post to

you from the bowels of a C130 somewhere over the middle of Antarctica.

We are currently flying form the McMurdo Station to the South Pole

station. I am traveling with my advisor, John Carlstrom, and two

engineers who are helping to put a guard-ring on the telescope. This

guard ring will help mitigate reflections from the ground which can

contaminate our measurements. Things have gone smoothly for us, but I

want to tell you about things that have not gone as smoothly for our

friends in Christchurch.

As many of you know, Christchurch was hit by an earthquake last

February. It was not a huge quake, as quakes go, but the epicenter

was shallow and right in the middle of town. This, coupled with a

tradition of stone-masonry architecture, lead to devastating effects.

In fact, I was in New Zealand when the earthquake hit last year. I was

traveling in the south and heard about it while visiting a local

brewery. Upon returning to Christchurch to fly home last year, I

could not go into downtown and thus did not see much of the aftermath.

This year, we traveled to downtown Christchurch from our hotel at the

airport to observe the state of recovery in downtown. I was not

prepared for what we would find. The entire city center - an area of

approximately four by six blocks - is still completely blocked off.

Buildings up to 20+ stories inside that area are in ruins. Many have

missing windows and cracked foundations, some are visibly crooked.

Speaking with locals, many buildings have been completely demolished,

and from the looks of it many more will follow suit.

I walked around the are for four hours taking photographs on my second

day in town, passing by restaurants I had eaten at and stores I had

visited. Both hotels I stayed at previously are severely damaged.

There are signs of rebuilding. Next to the city center, a shopping

area has sprung up from the cracks, completely build out of shipping

containers. Cranes and back-hoes are all around the city (though

nobody was working - it was Sunday).

Here is a photo-essay of downtown Christchurch, and the efforts to

bring the city back to life. The city is struggling to rebuild, and

has a long way to go.

Downtown Christchurch

A brick masonry wall. This type of brick architecture did not survive well.

An old stonework building in partial repair. The classic stonework of downtown Christchurch was hit very hard.

Another stonework building

Destruction and hope - "We are open"

The city clock-tower.

The Crowne Plaza hotel, where I stayed on my first trip. The gravel lot in the foreground used to be filled with restaurants.

The Windsor hotel, where I lost a laptop to the earthquake during my

second trip. Interestingly, the big fancy hotel still looks like it

was bombed, whereas the small ma-and-pa hotel is being actively

rebuilt.

Cracked old masonry on a walkway by the river. The man-made

structeres were damaged, the river, well, the river was completely

unaffected, almost oblivious to the surrounding destruction.

A building used to be there...

A self-portrait, taken through a window. Notice both the inside of

the building and the reflection behind me.

**Re-building**

Pieces of stone being taken down and saved one-by-one, to rebuild this historic building.

The entrance to the "Shipping Container Mall"

Fancy clothes being sold out of a Shipping Container store.

Innovation - turning a gas station into an Punjabi Food restaurant.

The funky little cafe where I ate lunch. I love these places, unique

and full of character. And the vanilla milkshakes are lip-smackin'

good!

Our thoughts and support are with Christchurch, hoping for a quick and healthy recovery.