As with many other central Christchurch streets, it is named for a colonial Anglican bishopric, Colombo, Sri Lanka in what at the time was known as Ceylon.

From Armagh Street it skirts the edge of Victoria Square and crosses the Avon River / Ōtākaro before passing the James Hay Theatre, part of the Christchurch Town Hall.

A further Barnes dance is under consideration for Lichfield Street in conjunction with the relocated central city bus exchange.

[a][4][5] The street was the site of one of the worst disasters in New Zealand history, with a major fire that swept through the Ballantyne's Department Store in November 1947 killing 41 people.

[8] This transaction was formalised through The Cathedral Square Ordinance 1858, a law passed by the Canterbury Provincial Council in October 1858.

[9] Christianity has adopted the practice of praying towards the East as the Orient was thought of as containing the mankind's original home.

Hence, most Christian churches are oriented towards the east,[10][11] and to comply with this convention, Henry Harper, Christchurch's first Bishop, lobbied to have the eastern side of Cathedral Square to be used for the pro-cathedral.

[14] The purpose of this change was to allow the placement of the cathedral slightly further west, making its tower visible along Colombo Street from a distance.

Several pedestrianisation schemes over the latter part of the century extended the traffic-free area of the central city, and the street was finally stopped from entering the square itself.