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Built in 1893 as a ‘Gentleman’s Residence’, this house with its beautifully detailed, symmetrical facade had a number of owners until it found a new life as a women’s hostel a century later in 1993 (appropriately, exactly 100 years after women first had the vote). It was given the name ‘Frauenreisehaus’ which translates as ‘Women's Travel House’.
Constructed of stucco over brick, it was so badly broken by the Christchurch earthquakes that it has had to be demolished, leaving a significant gap in women’s accommodation in Christchurch, the loss of another noteworthy 19th Century inner city dwelling, a lot of sadness and a radically altered life for its owner.
Currently the site has been cleared and a large new block awaits construction.