Lauriston Court

Last updated
Lauriston Court
Greater Johannesburg OpenStreetMap small.svg
Red pog.svg
General information
StatusExtant
TypeResidential
Architectural style Art deco
Address186 Louis Botha Avenue
Town or cityJohannesburg
CountrySouth Africa
Coordinates 26°10′09″S28°04′25″E / 26.1692°S 28.0735°E / -26.1692; 28.0735
Completed1936
ClientAfrican City Properties
Technical details
Floor count5
Design and construction
Architect(s)Frank Emley
Architecture firmEmley & Williamson [1]

Lauriston Court is a residential building in Houghton Estate, Johannesburg. The building was designed by the prominent architecture firm, Emley and Williamson and completed in 1936. [1]

Contents

History

The Suburb of Orange Grove sits in a historically important location on Louis Botha Avenue, or The Old Pretoria Road as it was once known. It was the site of a Boer War blockhouse that is said to have had uninterrupted views North, towards Pretoria. Before that, The Orange Grove Hotel had also been important, as Paul Kruger, the president of the Zuid Afrikaanse Republiek had met various delegations there. By the 1930s, Art Deco had become the most fashionable style of architecture in Johannesburg and a number of Art Deco buildings were erected in Orange Grove and neighbouring Houghton, including Houghton Heights and Roxdale Mansions.

Architects

Frank Emley was one of the preeminent architects in early Johannesburg. In partnership with William Leck he designed numerous important buildings in Johannesburg, including the Corner House Building (1903), and the Rand Club (1905). The partnership was also commissioned to design the homes of Sir Lionel Phillips, Judge Henry Hull and various other prominent members of early Johannesburg society. After the passing of Wiliam Leck, Emley won the competition for the new Central Block at the University of the Witwatersrand and brought on Frederick Williamson as a partner. Together they designed the main buildings at the University of the Witwatersrand campus (1920), and the Third Anstey's Building (1935). Lauriston Court was completed the year before The Third Anstey's Building, Emley and Williamson's Art Deco masterpiece.

Features

The building is completely symmetrical and in the Art Deco style. It features a characteristic tower of cantilever bay windows towards each of the two wings, reminiscent of the curved cantilever balconies of the German Expressionist architect, Erich Mendelsohn. The facade of the building is of painted plaster with horizontal bands stretching the full length of the building. The approach to the entrance is via a mosaic stairway with an aluminium rail down the middle. The entrance is through a double wooden doorway, leading into an opulent, split level foyer with an unusual curved ceiling and diagonal chessboard marble floor. There is now a Heritage Association blue plaque, with a synopsis of the building's history, at the front gate.

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">History of Johannesburg</span> Aspect of history

Johannesburg is a large city in Gauteng Province of South Africa. It was established as a small village controlled by a Health Committee in 1886 with the discovery of an outcrop of a gold reef on the farm Langlaagte. The population of the city grew rapidly, becoming a municipality in 1898. In 1928 it became a city making Johannesburg the largest city in South Africa. In 2002 it joined ten other municipalities to form the City of Johannesburg Metropolitan Municipality. Today, it is a centre for learning and entertainment for all of South Africa. It is also the capital city of Gauteng.

Killarney is a suburb of Johannesburg, South Africa. A relatively wealthy area, located west of the M1 freeway, Killarney is a densely built-up area, and it has numerous apartment blocks, as well as a large shopping mall, Killarney Mall.

Parktown is a wealthy suburb of Johannesburg, South Africa, and is the first suburb north of the inner city. It is affectionately known as one of the Parks, others including Parkview, Parkwood, Westcliff, Parktown North, Parkhurst and Forest Town. Parktown is one of Johannesburg's largest suburbs, neighbouring Hillbrow, Braamfontein and Milpark to the South; Berea and Houghton to the East; Killarney and Forest Town to the North, and Westcliff, Melville and Richmond to the West. Originally established by the Randlords in the 1890s, Parktown is now home to many businesses, hospitals, schools, churches and restaurants, whilst still maintaining quiet residential areas. It is also home to three of the five campuses of the University of the Witwatersrand including the education campus, medical school and Wits Business School. It is located in Region F of the City of Johannesburg Metropolitan Municipality.

Louis Botha Avenue is a major street in Johannesburg, South Africa. Originally part of the main road between central Johannesburg and Pretoria, it runs along through the north-eastern parts of the city from Hillbrow to Sandton, passing through numerous older suburbs, including Houghton and Orange Grove, before it becomes the Pretoria Main Road (R101) which passes the Alexandra Township and continues to Midrand and Pretoria.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Johannesburg Park station</span> Central railway station in Johannesburg, South Africa

Johannesburg Park Station is the central railway station in the city of Johannesburg, South Africa, and the largest railway station in Africa. It is located between the Central Business District and Braamfontein, in the block bordered by Rissik, Wolmarans, Wanderers, and Noord Streets. Park Station lies on the main Witwatersrand railway line that runs East-West from Krugersdorp to Germiston. The first four stations to the east are Doornfontein, Ellis Park, Jeppe and George Goch Stations.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Parktown mansions</span> Houses in Johannesburg, South Africa

The mansions of Parktown are an important part of the history of the city of Johannesburg. They were the homes of the Randlords, accountants, military personnel and other influential residents of early Johannesburg, dating back as early as the 1890s. The first of these mansions, Hohenheim was designed by Frank Emley and was built for Sir Lionel Phillips and his wife Lady Florence Phillips. The name Hohenheim had been used originally by Hermann Eckstein, one of the first Rand Lords to name his house after the place of his own birth. When Phillips became the head of Eckstein & Co, he moved in to Eckstein's house but due to the expansion of the city decided to build the new Hohenheim in an enviable site further from the mine workings. Sir Lionel Phillips was banished from the Republic for his involvement in the Jameson Raid. It is perhaps fitting that the next occupant of this famous house was none other than Sir Percy Fitzpatrick, the author of the best selling book 'Jock of the Bushveldt'. The house was demolished but a plaque remains in honor of this building.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ansteys Building</span>

Anstey's Building is an art deco building in the city of Johannesburg. The building took its name from the original owner of the building, Norman Anstey, founder of one of the best known department stores in the city. The Norman Anstey and Company department store was housed in the four-storey podium of the building, which features a curved facade to address the street corner.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Astor Mansions</span>

Astor Mansions is an Art Deco style building that was designed by architects Obel & Obel in 1931 and completed in 1932. The building was residential with street level retail and first floor professional office space. It was built to the maximum height of 140 feet permitted by the City Council. The building had a short lived stint as the tallest building in Johannesburg until the completion of the Ansteys Building in 1935.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">National Bank Building</span> Business-use in South Africa , Simmonds str

The National Bank Building also known as the Corner House is situated on the corner of Market and Simmonds Streets in Johannesburg. The address 38-40 Simmonds Street corresponds to Stand 205 F.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Rand Club</span> Business-use in Johannesburg, South Africa

The Rand Club is a private members' club in Johannesburg, South Africa, founded in October 1887. The current (third) clubhouse was designed by architects Leck & Emley in 1902 and its construction completed in 1904. Cecil John Rhodes helped to select the location.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Manners Mansions</span> Flats with Shops in Johannesburg, South Africa

Manners Mansions was designed by the architectural firm of Emley and Williamson for African City Property Trust and was built in 1937-1939. The building is situated on stand 5198, at the corner of Jeppe and Joubert Streets in Johannesburg.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Beacon Royal</span> Rental flats in Yeoville, South Africa

The Beacon Royal, also known as the Beacon Court, is an Art Deco block of flats constructed in 1934. This was a time of enormous growth as South Africa and the rest of the world emerged from the Great Depression. All over Yeoville and Bellevue in the years 1933 – 1934, blocks of flats were going up. The Beacon Court is located on stand 1044 at 55 Grafton Road/Louis Botha Avenue in Yeoville, Johannesburg. It was designed for PP Weisholtz by the brothers Obel and Obel who were also responsible for Astor Mansions in Jeppe Street and the Circle Court in Willie Street which overlooked Clarendon Circle at the time.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Radoma Court</span> Apartments in Gauteng, South Africa

Radoma Court was designed in 1937 by the Harold Le Roith practice of architects. It is situated prominently on a corner site in Bellevue, at stand 474 where Cavendish and Yeo Streets meet.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Southport Town Hall, Queensland</span> Historic site in Queensland, Australia

Southport Town Hall is a heritage-listed former town hall at Nerang Street, Southport, Gold Coast City, Queensland, Australia. It was designed by Hall & Phillips and built in 1935 by H Cheetham. It is also known as Gold Coast City Hall, Gold Coast Town Hall, and South Coast Town Hall. It was added to the Queensland Heritage Register on 5 October 1998.

Frank Emley was an English architect, who played an important part in designing several buildings in early Johannesburg in the practices of Leck and Emley and Emley and Williamson.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Murgon Civic Centre</span> Historic site in Queensland, Australia

Murgon Civic Centre is a heritage-listed town hall at 62–70 Lamb Street, Murgon, South Burnett Region, Queensland, Australia. It is also known as Murgon Public Hall. It was designed by Clifford Ernest Plant and built in 1938 by HG Neilsen. It was added to the Queensland Heritage Register on 9 November 2012.

Kingsway Mansions is a three-story apartment block dating back from 1928 that has Cape Dutch and classical design elements in the decoration of the balconies and the gables along the main façade towards Kingsway Avenue. The building has 27 units with 21 of its apartments being 100 square metres and the remaining 6 ‘studios” 65 square metres each.

M11 is a major metropolitan route in Greater Johannesburg, South Africa. Historically it was part of the main road between Johannesburg and Pretoria; it now runs through the central and north-eastern parts of the city from Bassonia, passing through Johannesburg CBD and Hillbrow, passing through numerous older suburbs, including Houghton and Orange Grove and the Alexandra Township as Louis Botha Avenue, before it becomes the Old Pretoria Road (R101) and continues to Midrand and Pretoria.

Ernest Willmot Sloper was an architect active in Johannesburg, South Africa and in the United Kingdom. He designed Bishopskop for Michael Furse, bishop of Pretoria. He also designed his own house in Parktown, Endstead

Bronwyn Law-Viljoen is a South African writer, editor, publisher and professor. She is the co-founder of the publisher Fourthwall Books and owns a bookstore called Edition. She acts as the primary editor for works on law and history of South Africa and the architecture and building process of its constitutional court structures, along with artistic book publications of the work of William Kentridge. She has also published her own novel called The Printmaker.

References

  1. 1 2 "Lauriston Court details".