Report - Coffee Queen Espresso Cafe - Christchurch - August 2014

WildBoyz · Sep 19, 2014

The Coffee Queen Espresso shop is a cafe situated inside the Chancery Lane Arcade in Christchurch, New Zealand. Constructed in 1862, the site of Chancery Lane began life as a small street comprising of three small wooden buildings, however, the lane wasn't formally named until 1882. From 1882 onwards extensive development continued in that area; the buildings comprised of houses and various small local businesses. Although all but one of the original buildings continues to exist, the original lane still, 'theoretically speaking', survives to this day. Over the years, as Christchurch expanded, the numerous houses were steadily demolished or redeveloped into shops. In more recent years Chancery Lane was substantially modernised, and up until the 2011 earthquakes continued to exist as a central shopping precinct which accommodated an exhaustive list of shops, cafes, bars and restaurants.

It was late one evening in Christchurch when two shady characters were attempting to access a high-rise hotel that was being renovated; or so it seemed at least. Whilst caught up in the moment of trying to find an access point, the two inadvertently found themselves inside a very strange setting indeed, consisting of several abandoned shops and a number of bars and restaurants. It was inconceivably dark, and their eyes strained against the darkness trying to fathom what lay behind the shadows. As their eyes adjusted, countless broken windows slowly materialised and gradually came into view. Behind their shattered edges and the fading coats of impetuously strewn graffiti, numerous silhouetted objects became visible. It was at that point the pair realised they had unwittingly walked into Chancery Lane, and in the scarred scene before them rested a cafe that stood out markedly since the interior was still largely intact. After detecting an opening and, having squeezed themselves inside, the two stood in silence as they took in the smell of the faint and yet slightly decayed scent of coffee and sugar, and were all of a sudden enveloped by the scene set around them.

Explored with Urbex Central NZ and Nillskill.

(Note: We were disappointed with a few of the shots, so we stealthily snuck back inside during the day to get a few more - Hence the daylight coming through the windows in some of the photographs).

1: Sandwich and Cake Counter