Pretoria, South Africa
Posted by: 
TeamTGF
S 25° 45.190 E 028° 11.237
35J E 619073 N 7151114
Quick Description: The Pretoria City Hall, inaugurated in 1931.
Location: Limburg, South Africa
Date Posted: 4/7/2007 7:05:37 AM
Waymark Code: WM1CRP
Views: 121
Long Description:
Since the
middle of the 19th century, it was fashionable to build town
halls to house the city administation. These buildings
satisfied the need of mass meetings of a new democracy and
also served to impress rate payers and visitors.
The specific architectural techniques used by many city councils
are reflected by the Pretoria City Hall. The building is situated
away from the street to make it seem bigger from a distance and has
a simple rectangular shape of large proportions, resulting in a
monumental effect.
Traditionally, verticle objects have suggested dominance and
power and these are reflected in the City Hall's classical columns
and especially in the heavy tower that crowns the tiled roof.
Pretoria's first town hall was built in 1905 in Pretorius
Street, three years after a proper local authority was established.
It was replaced by this City Hall, erected on a piece of vacant
land indicated as 'Drooge Klip Bult' (Dry, rocky outcrop) on
Pretoria's first map of 1859. The City Hall celebrates the status
of 'city' obtained in 1931. The building resulted from an
architectural competition, won by FG McIntosh in 1926. Due to
economic depression, work could only start in 1931, by which time
McIntosh had passed away and his assistant, John Lockwood Hall had
taken over the resposibility.
When the building was inaugurated in December 1931, the public
was entertained by John Connell's music on the organ, built by WW
Kimball of Chicago. The carillion (Chimes), also from Chicago, was
donated to the city by George Heys, the original owner of Melrose
House.
The two statues in the park in front of the building depict
Martinus Pretorius (1819 - 1901) and his father Andries Pretorius
(1798 - 1853), after whom Pretoria was named.