Another of the "Kloofs" in PE which carries a major arterial road used to be called Coopers Kloof, until Albany Road was built through it. Construction began in 1865. This building is Port Elizabeth's Old Fire Station, built in 1930, which has been replaced by a modern new facility in Summerstrand. It is now used as an office complex.
Behind it, you can see the cliff face that formed part of the river valley. Above it is the Old Erica School which we showed you recently, and on the edge of the cliff to the right of the school and round tower is the viewpoint from which this photo of the bay was taken.
Sorry to ONCE AGAIN flout the rules and post more than one photo, but I thought this old watercolour, done in the ninteenth Century, would interest you, this is looking down Cooper's Kloof to the sea, so the firestation was built a bit further down towards the sea on the right, beyond this old cottage.
What a beautiful and well maintained building, Sam! I like the color beige and rose on the walls. Thanks for sharing this photos and information.
ReplyDeleteA lovely looking set of buildings!
ReplyDeleteTha reminds me of the buildings in Dunedin, NZ that I saw last year. Painted in different colours but perhaps built at a similar time.
ReplyDeleteAli, interesting, I think, looking at architecture around the world, that the "Colonial Powers that be" at any time had a strong influence on buildings put up during their rule, so there does seem to be a sort of cookie-cutter sameness imposed on official buildings of the then British Empire, designed by British Architects with very little reference to local style or conditions. The same can be said of local cultural traditions, did you notice in the two recent vintage photos I published that the Fingo workers were togged out in full victorian regalia, rather than their traditional loin cloths which would have been much more suitable for the climate and physical labour!
ReplyDeleteWhat a treat to see BOTH of these photos. Love the watercolour technique so I appreciated your bottom photo, and the colours of the fire station and other buildings is delightful to see.
ReplyDeleteRules are made to be broken! A lovely set of buildings here.
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