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| | Marks Building - Gundelfinger - Metro Cycle House
Tshwane (Pretoria), Gauteng Wilhelm (Wim) Johannes DE ZWAAN: Architect
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| Date: | 1903 | | Client: | Sammy Marks | Type: | Commercial | |
| Status: | Extant |
Click to view large mapCoordinates:
25°44'44.81" S 28°11'40.15" E Alt: 1318m | | Marks Building, also called Gundelfinger (after the wholesale merchant) and Metro Cycle House, because they occupied a large part of it.
The building is extant and has been incorporated into Sammy Marks Square.
Excerpt from a report by GM van der Waal of the Centre for SA Art and Architecture which was probably influential in saving the building:
- Is the only commercial and wholesale building of its style in the Transvaal and probably in the RSA;
- Is historical for art and an important illustration of the development of the architecture of Pretoria;
- Is the only surviving commercial building in the RSA comprising a row of identical small and prominent shops;
- Was an important commercial building of its time;
- Was for many decades a characteristic landmark and orientation point in the city centre;
- Is one of the most important buildings in Pretoria dating from this period;
- Is of pleasing aesthetic composition and finishes;
- Is built of good material and sturdy construction;
(Extracted and translated from Restorica No 8:16)
References: | Jooste, Deon. 1980. Oudste gebou in Pretoria bedreig. Restorica 8. pp 16 | | Allen, Vivien. 1971. Kruger's Pretoria: buildings and personalities of the city in the nineteenth century. Cape Town: Balkema. pg 156 | | Bakker, Karel A, Clarke, Nicholas J & Fisher, Roger C. 2014. Eclectic ZA Wilhelmiens : A shared Dutch built heritage in South Africa. Pretoria: Visual Books. pg 201 | | Dunston, Lola & Dunston, Tom. 1975. Young Pretoria 1889-1913. Pretoria: Dunston. pg 28, 140, 148, 150 ill, 154, 158 | | Le Roux, SW(Ed). 1991. Plekke en Geboue van Pretoria Volume 2. Pretoria: Stadsraad van Pretoria. pg 10-11 | | Mendelsohn, Richard. 1991. Sammy Marks : the uncrowned king of the Transvaal. Cape Town: David Philip, Ohio University Press in association with Jewish Publications-South Africa. pg 156 |
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