A different view on current affairs & history
These five structures, the Campanile, Mosenthals Building, Richardsons Building, the Reserve Bank and the City Hall represent the essence of Port Elizabeth in terms of its history. Now some have been demolished or blocked out and some replaced with ahistorical buildings with no connection to its past or in fact its future.
Main picture: The majestic quintuplets – Campanile, Mosenthals, Richardsons, Reserve Bank, City Hall
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Instead of merely adding some minor technical detail to my blogs, my brother, being the Technical Editor, has ventured out and written a whole article. He always has the knack of examining the minutiae of photographs and in doing so, discovers unnoticed anomalies or points of contention or interest.
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Amongst all the iconic buildings of Port Elizabeth, this must feature in the top five. Yet in 1977 this building which epitomises Port Elizabeth, almost became an ex-icon as a result of a conflagration which destroyed it.
What a momentous loss that would have been?
This blog covers the odyssey of a plan transformed into a Town Hall to finally being acclaimed as the City Hall. Finally it is saved from destruction by the wreckers’ ball of short-sighted Councillors and then from a fiery inferno.
Main picture: The Town Hall under construction from 1858 to 1861
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