Contact Artefacts please if you have any comments or more information regarding this record.	Menu Home Upfront Now Up Books Towns Structures People Firms Lexicon		Magistrates Court and Police Station Building Gqeberha (Port Elizabeth), Eastern Cape PUBLIC WORKS DEPARTMENT of the CAPE COLONY: Architect

Date: 1884 : 1899 Type: Public Buildings Status: Extant Street: Baakens Street (bottom of Military Rd and Castle Hill)   Click to view map Coordinates: 33°57'46.65" S 25°37'26.52" E Alt: 11m

The Magistrates Court and Police Station Building, sometimes also referred to as simply the Public Building, was constructed in 2 phases and designed by the Public Works Department in Cape Town. Architecturally the 2 wings are matching and are seen as a single building facing Baakens Street. The north wing was the earliest, built in 1884-85 and accommodated the Magistrates Courts until 1934 when the new courts were opened in North End. This section then provided much need additional space for the adjacent Post Office. These were vacated in 1991 following the construction of the large New Post Office on Govan Mbeki Ave. The southern part was the police station and barracks, erected in 1899-1900 and remained in use as such, until about 2005. Both The Post Office and the whole of this building were sold off c2006 and have since been vacant, suffering progressive deterioration from both the elements and vandalism. (Gerald Humphrey, June 2021)