Old PE post office revamp
Restoration of old post office and police station starts
BUILT more than 120 years ago by the same architect who designed the parliament buildings in Cape Town, Port Elizabeth’s “old post office” and surrounding buildings are undergoing an extensive facelift.
Punted as a tourism and commercial hub once completed, the heritage buildings are being restored by Ken Denton’s Ummi Properties.
“We need to be more conscious today, more than before [without] detracting from the feel,” Denton said, adding that once completed the buildings would look as close to the originals as possible.
“What people are looking for is old wine in new bottles, [so] the memory must feel the same [and] return life back into the area.”
Denton took The Herald on a tour of the compound, detailing what the plan was while showing the extent of work already under way and what still needed to be done.
Part of the plan for the buildings – which include the former magistrate’s court, the Baakens Street police station and the old post office – is to open up the spaces to the public to experience and enjoy.
“People need to feel proud and have pride in their heritage,” Denton said.
He said it was necessary for the restoration to be done in a sustainable way in order to maintain the structures for the future.
According to Denton, the old post office spire, which is currently having its roof refurbished, is in the Rhineland-style of architecture and is the only example in South Africa.
“We have master stone masons from Germany here to do the work on the sandstone structure. They are also training local workers how to maintain the structure once fully restored,” he said.
The fragile sandstone bricks being used have been brought in from Rustenburg from the same quarry where the original stone was sourced.
It is estimated the restoration work will take up to five years and projected costs will run into millions of rands.
“This [the work on the old post office] is only the tip of the iceberg,” Denton said.
Part of the plan is to expand the area to allow for a public thoroughfare from behind the City Hall to the proposed multi-level public car park which forms part of the extensive renovations.
The current car park, next to the buildings, will be excavated and built up to house at least 230 vehicles.
An alley between the former Baakens Street police station and the post office will be opened to the public once work is complete. Visitors to the area will have access to this area with a proposed piazza planned which will allow the public to enjoy the original architecture of the buildings.
The former prison cells below ground level, which still have the original apartheid-era wall graffiti, will be open to the public to view.
“We are salvaging what we can with the hope to use it later,” Denton said.
He said that previous restoration work had not been of the best standard and detracted from the original look.
“We have come back in great detail to do precision work,” Denton said.
“What we are doing is stripping out all the attachments to get them [the buildings] to their original look. We can either restore or put lipstick on.”
Denton said restoring the spire was the first stage of the restoration process which should be done within six weeks.
Plans for the parking lot would be submitted for consent this week with work starting “within a few weeks of approval”, he said.