PE : Old buildings

Port Elizabeth has some lovely old buildings from the 19th century.  It may not seem very old compared to some European buildings but it is some of the oldest in South Africa.  Some are in a very good condition but most (in the city center) are neglected and are falling apart.  Here are some of the buildings that are looked after.  Most of them was built as houses but are now used by businesses.

The Athenaeum Club
The Athenaeum Club was founded in 1850’s to promote cultural activities. The building was opened in 1896 and was declared a National Monument in 1980.  It is now the Little Theatre.

Pembridge House (13 Bird Street)
This house was built in 1844 and was altered in 1880’s.  It is named after the London address of the merchant who lived in the house in the 19th century.  Currently it is used as an office for attorney’s.

The Port Elizabeth Club
This was the first gentlemen’s club in Port Elizabeth.  The club started in 1866 and the present building was opened in 1906.  The big fig tree at the entrance is over 100 years old.  Some of the famous visitors to the club were the Prince of Wales in 1925 and the Royal family in 1947.  The club still uses a part of the building but the rest was converted to offices.

Fleming House (20 Bird Street)
William Flemming built this house in 1851.  Prince Alfred and his party stayed here during their visit to Port Elizabeth in 1860.  It was bought by the University of Port Elizabeth and is used as the Business School. 

Old Museum (28 Bird Street)
This was originally a house for a merchant, built in 1861. Later it became the home of Adam White Guthrie, the mayor of PE in 1912-1915 and it was used as museum from 1918 to 1961. 

Location: 13 Bird St, Port Elizabeth 6001, South Africa

Comments

  1. Mandy01 July, 2012 00:32

    I love these old buildings! I wish I knew a little bit more about architecture so I could place why they look more American than European to me. Maybe the buildings in America had Dutch or French influences and that is the same in PE. In any event, they look so different to the old mining mansions I know from Johannesburg. Very pretty.

    ReplyDelete

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Daar’s ‘n hoender wat ‘n eier nie kan lê

Image
   Weather vane on the VGK Church in Carnarvon    This photo made me think of a song we used to sing as kids.    It is a traditional Afrikaans song about the rooster on top of the church. The words of the song and its translation: Daar’s ‘n hoender wat ‘n eier nie kan lê There is a chicken that cannot lay an egg Daar’s ‘n hoender wat ‘n eier nie kan lê There is a chicken that cannot lay an egg Daar’s ‘n hoender wat ‘n eier nie kan lê There is a chicken that cannot lay an egg Dis die haan wat op die kerktoring staan It’s the rooster standing on the church tower Dis die haan, Dis die haan It’s the rooster, It’s the rooster Dis die haan wat op die kerktoring staan It’s the rooster standing on the church tower More about all the churches and other buildings we saw in Carnarvon in the next post.
Read more

Dutch Reformed Mother Church, George

Image
One of my favourite sights in George is the white Dutch Reformed Mother Church with the beautiful Outeniqua Mountain as background.   I have many memories of visiting this church: On a history class trip when I was about 10, for a art class when I was about 13, for my cousins wedding in 2004, for her baby’s christening a few years later and many other times.   But most of all I like seeing this church every time we drive through town.   The cornerstone for the church was laid on 14 April 1832.   Slaves were used for some of the building work like the digging of the six-foot deep by five-foot wide foundations.   Due to financial problems it took 12 years to complete the church and it was consecrated in 9 October 1842.  The church is a National Heritage Site. On 13 September 1905 disaster struck when the church tower collapsed.   The wood rotted from water damage and lead to the walls weakening.   After a lot of rain for two days the tower collapsed.   The tower was reb
Read more

Eyewitness Travel Guides – A Book Review

Image
  Last month I wrote a book review and I enjoyed it.   Today I want to share some more of my favourite travel books.   DK Eyewitness Travel Guides I bought my first travel guide in 2008. I was planning a trip with my friend Lelanie to London and Europe.   While planning the trip I bought the DK Eyewitness Travel Guide: Europe and I paid R 282.00 for it.   Except for my university textbooks, this was the most expensive book I have ever bought for myself.    We were doing a Contiki Tour and visited 7 countries.   I studied the information in guide the about the cities we would visit.    I made lists of places I want to see and then looked for more information about them.   In the end I did not take the guide with me (the 800 pages was just to heavy to carry along) but packed all my lists to use.  At Departures at Cape Town Airport in 2008 My second guide was for the same trip.   The Eyewitness Travel Top 10 London traveled with us.   We stayed in London for 4 da
Read more