It can be hard to remember what parts of Christchurch looked like just moments after the February 22, 2011, struck.

Our before and after interactive sliders below show central city streets as they were immediately after the earthquake struck, and how they are today.

Slide the circle in the centre of these interactive images back and forth to compare the photos.

NEW REGENT STREET

New Regent St has come a long way since this photograph in July 2011.

The street reopened for business in April 2013.

The skyline looking south down New Regent St is largely unchanged, although the Grand Chancellor Hotel has now been demolished.

The Yellow Rocket bagel cafe on the right of the image has also been demolished.

COLOMBO AND ARMAGH STREETS



Isaac House on the southwestern corner of Colombo and Armagh Sts is now a lone survivor. The block has been largely cleared to make way for the government's planned convention centre precinct, but Isaac House will remain.

The Georgian revival building was built in 1926 and has a category two heritage listing. The original image was taken in September 2011.

COLOMBO AND GLOUCESTER STREETS



Just two days after the February earthquake and the city centre streets are full of rubble and USAR workers. The rubble has been cleared and the USAR workers are long gone, but Colombo St is an emptier place.

The only remaining buildings are Isaac House on the left of the image and Forsyth Barr on the right.

GLOUCESTER STREET



The stretch of Gloucester St between Manchester and Colombo Sts is a pocket of activity in the city centre. Sampan House restaurant, Rendezvous Hotel, Press Building, Cathedral Junction and the Theatre Royal are now all open for business.

The original photograph, taken in September 2011, reveals a cordoned city still in shock.

MANCHESTER STREET

Manchester St on March 4, 2011, just under two weeks after the big earthquake, was clogged with fallen masonry.

Piles of fallen bricks stretch down the street.

Now, with the damaged buildings cleared, new views have opened up. They skyline has also changed with the Grand Chancellor and Holiday Inn buildings both demolished.

MANCHESTER STREET

Manchester St just weeks after the February earthquake was a hive of activity, dust and rubble. Now, the number of demolished buildings is clear from the empty sites and large sky.

LICHFIELD STREET

Christchurch city centre after the snowstorms of July 2011 was a strangely picturesque place.

The view looking east along Lichfield St from Manchester St has changed dramatically.

Many heritage buildings have been demolished and there is little rebuild activity as the street is in the government's east frame, which is earmarked for some residential development.

One of the only survivors on the street is the large green road sign in the centre of the image.

HIGH AND TUAM STREETS

The Stranges building on the corner of High and Tuam Sts was badly damaged in the February earthquakes.

A new building reopened on the site in August 2014.

Phil Price's Nucleus sculpture remains, but the cityscape has transformed with the Holiday Inn and Westpac buildings both demolished.

LICHFIELD STREET

The view looking east on Lichfield St has transformed since July 2011. Many buildings have been demolished, but new structures are also emerging. The steel emerging from the ground on the right of the new image will eventually be the new Bus Exchange.