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Wednesday, May 18, 2016

Standing Tall: #14

Like The Builder, this giraffe was also situated in The Commons, which used to be the site of the Crowne Plaza Hotel. I remember going there with my aunt whenever we wanted to act posh, and pretending to have a room at the hotel as an excuse to ride the glass elevator (in my defence, I was a kid at the same – though I'm not sure what Auntie Carol's excuse was).
It's now an open bit of land that's used for stalls, sculptures and picnic areas, and (being near the centre of town) was a great location for a giraffe covered in images of the city: the trams, the birdlife, the Avon River and the Bridge of Remembrance.
Created by Jane McIntosh and called Aroha. Love Canterbury, it was one of the most popular giraffe sculptures, and is now situated in the Christchurch City Council building – I see it whenever I have to visit. As you can see from the photos below, it was beautifully detailed (and keep in mind that many of the landmarks it features no longer exist):













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