Mig 21 On Litchfield

Last week Gaby mentioned to me in passing she had seen a Mig 21 aircraft parked on Litchfield Street in downtown Christchruch, so I grabbed my camera and went to check it out; after all, it's not everyday you get to see a Mig 21 parked on the street - unless, of course, you live in Christchurch ;-).



Typical Rush Hour Traffic

It turns out the presence of the Mig is most likely a publicity stunt advertising a recently developed section of downtown called Sol Square (Sol is a not so very creative acronym for South Of Litchfield).



Dining Al Fresco at His Lordship's Cafe and Bar

The Mig is parked along Litchfield Street at the intersection with the newly developed pedestrian throughfare called His Lordship's Lane. There are several retail stores and restaurants situated in areas that were vehicle access ways or alleyways for the old mills which once occupied the buildings.



Flying Low along Litchfield Street

The wing of the aircraft extended rather close to traffic lanes and someone thoughtfully placed a high visibility vest at the wingtip in hopes of avoiding a collision.




The General Store: Objects for Home, Presents with Attitude, Accessories for Play

When I saw the sign for The General Store I wondered what sorts of intersting things were on offer there and wandered along the lane for a closer look. Unfortunately, it didn't appear the Mig was for sale...



Mig on Litchfield Street

There did seem to be quite a few folks interested in the Mig. Maybe a few folks were actually attracted enough to walk through the newly revamped back alleys! There are several downtown areas in Christchurch which have attracted development of the old industrial areas. Unfortunately, it seems most often these interesting areas lack sufficient advertisement/attraction to draw folks into these gems. I would encourage the City of Christchurch to spend some money to make these areas more attractive to folks on the street. Many of these pedestrian alleyways have great retail potential, but sometimes people walking along the street can be a bit leery of entering these back alleys - perhaps because some of them seem reminiscent of derilect intercity areas - not exactly the sorts of places folks seek out.