Old Government Building
Old Government Building in 2015
General information
Architectural style	Italian High Renaissance palazzo
Location	Christchurch Central City
Address	98 Worcester St
Town or city	Christchurch
Country	New Zealand
Coordinates	43°31′52″S 172°38′17″E / 43.53106°S 172.638075°E / -43.53106; 172.638075
Construction started	1910
Completed	1913
Design and construction
Architect(s)	Joseph Maddison
Awards and prizes	Canterbury Heritage Awards – Seismic category winner in 2012 and Built Heritage Award winner in 2010
Heritage New Zealand – Category 1
Designated	5 April 1984
Reference no.	301

The Old Government Building is a heritage building in Christchurch, New Zealand. It was designed by Joseph Maddison in 1909 for use by government departments.^[1] It is a Category I heritage building listed with Heritage New Zealand.

History

The building was designed to centralise various government departments in Christchurch that had previously been housed in the Canterbury Provincial Council Buildings and other rented spaces throughout the city.^[2][3] The Government Building opened in 1913 and housed various Government departments up until the 1980s. The last Government department to occupy the building was the Ministry of Works and Development.^[1] After being vacant for some time the building was threatened to be demolished in 1991. On 11 July 1991 the Christchurch City Council purchased the building from the government for $735,000. The council then sold it to the ‘Symphony Group’ in 1995 and it was converted into a hotel with the conditions to strengthen and conserve the building.^[1][4] It is now home to the Heritage Hotel Christchurch and the bar O.G.B.^[5][6]