Smash Palace

The Smash Palace bar occupies a cluster of converted shipping containers and salvaged materials on a vacant lot. It appeared in the weeks after the twenty eleven earthquake, when Christchurch’s city center lay in ruins. Owner Anton Matthews hauled a battered bus onto the site to serve as a makeshift bar, creating a gathering point for residents amidst the demolition. While the city around it has slowly rebuilt, the bar remains a persistent, scrappy monument to those chaotic, uncertain months.