SALE OF THE MORTEN BLOCK.

Globe, Volume XXIV, Issue 2641, 23 September 1882, Page 3

SALE OF THE MORTEN BLOCK.

The letting by auction of the celebrated portion of city property known as Morten’s Block took place to-day at Messrs H. Matson and Oo.’t sale rooms,which were crowded. The section was divided into thirteen lots, ranging from 28 x44to 14 x 28. The frontages were on Hereford and Colombo streets, and a road was laid off running through from Hereford street to Cathedral square. Another road was laid off from the east and west, giving access to the sections in rear of the front ones on Colombo street. A set of drawings of the proposed buildings to be erected were displayed, the buildings being four stories, and the elevations generally are such as will add very greatly to the appearance of the city. It has long been an eyesore that so prominent a position in a growing city like Christchurch should ba occupied by a series of buildings quite out of keeping. The chance of sweeping away the present assemblage of specimens of antediluvian architecture wa? of course matter of public interest, and therefore it was hardly to bo wondered at that there wsa a very large gathering. Mr Walton having ascended the rostrum said that he had now to submit to them the paradise of Christchurch—Morten’s block—which was situate in the very heart and centre of the city. The conditions of sale having been read, Mr Walton stated that the term of lease was for thirty years, at the expiration of which compensation would be given for the buildings erected. The present buildiega would, except the fixtures, be the property of the highest bidder. The hoarding in Cathedral square did not go with the property. The lessees would have to build in conformity with the designs exhibited, so far as the front elevation was concerned, making their own arrangements as to the internal fittings, &e. The deposits would be allowed 7 per cent, interest for, until completion of the "leases. On lots 1 and 2, £2OOO each would have to be expended on the property during the first twelve months ; on lots 3 and 4, £ISOO each during the same f e.iod ; on lots 5 to 10, each £I6OO during the same term j on lots 11, 12, and 13, £ISOO each within three years. The rent would commence from the term of taking possession. The auctioneer further pointed out that on the Cathedral Square frontage there were foundations already in which had cost some £IOOO. Mr Walton then proceeded with that flow of eloquence peculiar to him to dilate at length on the advantages of the block. This little interlude over the real business of the day commenced.

Lot No. 1, having 28ft frontage to Cathedral square, and 44ft on Hereford street, was first put up. Twenty pounds per foot, per annum, was the first shot, and by £1 bids £22 5j per foot was reached, at which price Mr Paterson, of the Marine Hotel, Summer, was declared the lease.

No. 2 lot, the corner section to the Golden Age, northward, along Colombo street, was next put having a frontage of 26ft Sin on Colombo street and 44ft an Cathedral square. The first bid was £l7 10a per foot, and by slow degrees £lB 10s was reached, at which price the lot was passed in. Lot 3, at tho rear of No, 1, fronting on Hereford street 14it, and 28it on the right-of way from Hereford street to Colombo street was next submitted to competition. The first bid was £l4, and at last Mr Paterson secured it at £ls 10s per foot. No. 4 lot, having 14ft frontage on Cathedral square, by 28ft depth, was started at £l3 per foot, but was withdrawn by the owner as likely to prejudice the sale of No. 2 lot. Lots 5,6, and 7, having a frontage of 15ft on Colombo street by a depth of 58ft, were next submitted. The first bid was £ls, and and £l6 10s per foot was the utmost Mr Walton’s efforts could obtain, and he announced that tho sections would not be sold. Nos. 8,9, and 10 lots were next offered, containing 14ft 4in frontage on Cathe dral square with a depth of 44ft 10in. The opening bid was £l2 per foot, but only £22 10» could be got, at which price these were withdrawn. Lots 11, 12, and 13 were next put up, having I4tt 4in frontage on Hereford street, with 44tt lOin in depth, A start was made at £l3 per foot. The lots were withdrawn at £l3 10a per foot, which olosed the sale. Tho following shows tho details of the sale:— Lot Lessee Annual rent 1 Mr. Paterson £623 8 Do. £217

DESTRUCTION OF THE GARDEN PALACE AT SYDNEY. By Electric Telegraph—Copyright. [bbuter’s telegram*."] Received September 22nd, 1.30 p.m. SYDNEY, September 22, 11 a.m.. The whole of the Garden Palace was completely destroyed this morning within an hour after the commencement of the fire. A few portions of brickwork are all that now remain standing. There was no insurance upon the building or upon the contents, except the art collection. The loss is incalculable on account of tbe great destruction of Government documents, many of which cannot bo replaced. All papers relating to the last census and plans and records of railway surveys perished in the flames, and the collection in the Technological Museum will bo difficult to replace. The flames spread with great rapidity, and rose to an immense height, being visible for miles round. The origin of the fire is entirely unknown, but it is hinted that it is due to incendiarism. Received September 23rd, 1 a.m. The art collection in the Garden Palace was insured for £3OOO. This, as already stated, was the only insurance on the building or its contents. From the description given of the Palace by our correspondent at the Sydney Exhi- j bition in 1879, we take tbe fallowing extract :— 11 Viewed from the gateway, its aspect conveys the idea lhat_ the design is desperately intricate. The varied heights of the roofings of differonts parts, the vast dome, the massive tower* thrusting their ornamental summits into view from remote parts, the minor towers, the angles, ornamentations, and different levels here, there, and everywhere, confuse and at the same time please the eye. But in reality the design is, in substance, sufficiently simple to admit of being understood even without diagrams. First, imagine a Maltese cross. There you have the nave and transept, the long arm of the eras* being the nave, and the short arm the transept. Each is 50ft in width. The nave is 800 ft long. Riflemen will arrive at an idea of the length best by reckoning it in yards, 267 yards nearly. Tha transept is 500tt, say 167 yards, in length. To the apex of the roof is from tbe floor 60ft, tha effect airy and light. The roofs are tinted in panels, a cerulean blue, the rafters canary yellow, stencilled with designs and lines in other tint*. Where nave and transept join, the roof soars away upward. You are standing under the great dome, than which only five in the world are greater. To the springing of the ribs the height from the floor is 89it., to the apex of the dome 159 ft. A lantern 20ft in diameter and 37ft high surmounts the whole, making the total height 210 ft. Perhaps the best way of conveying a conception of the vastnes* of this dome, the largest in the southern hemisphere, will bo by comparison, thus— Diameter. Height. Feet. Feet, St. Peter’s, Rome ... 139 ... 330 Santa Maria del Fiori, Florence 139 ... 310 St. Paul’s, London ... 112 ... 215 Garden Palace, Sydney; 100 ... 210 Ste. Sophia, Constantinople ... ... ... 115 ... 201 Pantheon, Home ... 142 ... 143 Thus it will be seen that, although ranking sixth in diameter, the dome of the Garden Palace is excelled by only three in the whole world in point of elevation. The greater proportion which its height boars to its diameter, as compared with its older and more substantial rivals, adds to its airy grace. From every point of view—seen from outside, from a distance or near at hand, or standing within the building and looking up into its vast concavity, it pleases the eye. From the last-mentioned standpoint it bear* scrutiny well. The twelve principal riba which compose it* frame are merely of timber bolted together, but being, like the twentyfour intermediate ribs which divide it into a thirty-six sided polygon, tastefully painted, they have all the appearance of permanent and finished work. The entire interior of the dome is colored and decorated with cheerful tints, while the exterior, of galvanised iron, reflects the rays of the sun with a metallic sheen which is not without its charm. Immediately under the apex there is a circular opening or wall, in the floor of the building, which affords light to the refreshment rooms, which are here located in the basement, and from the centre of which rises a massive pedestal, forming at the same time a fountain spouting water, the refreshing plash of which gratifies tbe ear, and a base for the marble statue of her Majesty the Queen, purchased by the Government of New South Wales from Mr Marshall Woods, the eminent sculptor. The nave and transept forming, as already explained, the two limbs of a cross, conceive cn each side of these limbs lateral enlargements, not sufficiently wide to convert the cross into a parallelogram or oblong, but making it very bulky, like a cross which has been flattened out. The enlargements, running parallel with the nave and transept respectively, form the aisles, roofed by a succession of skillions, with a height of 25ft at the lowest dip of the sloping roof, and along the lines which are common to these aisles and the nave and transept, run galleries, their floors 17ft above the main floors, and so devised that from them one can look down on one side on the floor of the nave or transept which they border and upon the other upon the adjoining aisle. Now, imagine at each end of nave and transept a massive tower 50ft square rising to a height of 118 ft, and at each of tbe four corners of the aisle a smaller tower, and a general idea of the design has been obtained.