Manners Mansions

Last updated
Manners Mansions
Manners Mansions Jeppe and Joubert str029 - Copy.jpg
Manners Mansions cnr Jeppe and Joubert Str Johannesburg
Manners Mansions
General information
StatusCompleted
TypeFlats with Shops
Location Johannesburg, South Africa
Coordinates 26°12′13″S28°2′11″E / 26.20361°S 28.03639°E / -26.20361; 28.03639 Coordinates: 26°12′13″S28°2′11″E / 26.20361°S 28.03639°E / -26.20361; 28.03639
Completed1940
Technical details
Floor count14
Design and construction
Architect(s)Emley & Williamson [1]

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.

Contents

Manners Mansions is named after Sir George Espec John Manners.

Design

The building has 14 storeys and a distinctive appearance with sweeping curved corners addressing the corner of the plot. The ground floor was set aside for shops and businesses with the floors above providing exclusive residential apartments. It resembles many buildings in New York City built around the same time. [2] [3]

The Building has similar features to the Ansteys Building owing to the fact that it was designed by the same architectural firm. Manners Mansions was famous for its ground floor high end shops and its beautiful curved art deco bronze and glass shop fronts. It also has the rounded corner house which for years was a popular venue for cigarette-and pipe-smokers. [4] The tender price for Manners Mansions was £148,000 [5] and the contractors were Reid & Knuckley Pty Ltd.

The interior includes a stylish horse shoe shaped staircase with mosaic detailing, which was featured in a fashion shoot in 1989. Glazing of the building was executed by Furman Glass Co. Ltd of Mooi Street Johannesburg using British glass. [6]

Shops and Businesses in Manners Mansions

Some of the early retailers and businesses within Manners Mansions are listed below:

Residents of Manners Mansions

Some of the residents of Manners Mansions are listed below:

Heritage Status

The Manners Mansions building is historically and culturally significant for the following reasons:

Related Research Articles

Sandton City is a large shopping mall situated in Sandton, Johannesburg, South Africa. It was built and owned by property development company Rapp and Maister, in partnership with brothers Hilliard and Eli Leibowitz, and was later taken over by Liberty Life.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Carlton Centre</span> Skyscraper in Johannesburg, South Africa

The Carlton Centre is a 50-storey skyscraper and shopping centre located on Commissioner Street in central Johannesburg, South Africa. At 223 metres (732 ft), it is the fourth tallest building in Africa after The Leonardo, the Mohammed VI Tower in Morocco and the Iconic Tower in Egypt. The foundations of the two buildings in the complex are 5 m (16 ft) in diameter and extend 15 m (49 ft) down to the bedrock, 35 m (115 ft) below street level. The building houses both offices and shops, and has over 46 per cent of the floor area below ground level.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Standard Bank Centre</span> Headquarters for Standard Bank in Johannesburg, South Africa

The Standard Bank Centre is a skyscraper in Johannesburg, South Africa. It is located at the corner of 27 Simmonds Street and 78 Fox Street in the Central Business District of the city. Construction of the building started in 1966 and was completed in 1968. It is 139 m (456 ft) tall. It was also home to Standard Bank, until the company moved to other site in 1990.

The Schlesinger Building, also known as Wesbank Centre or Sanlam Centre, is a skyscraper in Braamfontein, Johannesburg, South Africa. It was built in 1965 to a height of 110 metres (360 ft). It has 21 floors. The building is named for John Schlesinger, a Johannesburg businessman who was also one of the first major art collectors in the city.

Highpoint Hillbrow is a skyscraper in Hillbrow, Johannesburg, South Africa. It was built in 1972 to a height of 105 metres. The building is mostly apartments built on top of a large shopping centre and cinema.

<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">Villa Arcadia, Parktown</span>

Villa Arcadia is a mansion at 22 Oxford Road, Parktown, Johannesburg. It was built for Sir Lionel Phillips, one of the influential Randlords that dominated the early history of the city. Today it is one of the Parktown mansions that are preserved as part of the city's heritage.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Standard Bank Building</span> Building in Marshalltown, Johannesburg

The Standard Bank Building was designed by Architects Stucke & Bannister. It is found in Marshalltown in the South African city of Johannesburg in Commissioner, Harrison and Fox streets

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Victory House</span> Office use in Johannesburg, South Africa

Victory House, originally known as Permanent Buildings, is located on the corner of Harrison and Fox Streets in Marshalltown. The building is of great historical and architectural significance and is famous for having Johannesburg's first ever lift.

<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">Rand Water Board Building</span> Business in Johannesburg, South Africa

The Rand Water Board was established in 1903, tasked with supplying the water needed to support mining activities and sanitary living conditions for those living in the developing urban area of Johannesburg.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Cathedral of Christ The King, Johannesburg</span> Modern Catholic Cathedral in Berea, Johannesburg

The Cathedral of Christ The King is a Catholic cathedral in Johannesburg, South Africa.

<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.

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.

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.

Corner House in the central business district of Johannesburg was the headquarters of one of the largest mining conglomerates in South Africa. This building's unique history earned it a declaration as a national heritage monument in 1999.

References

  1. "Messy Manners Mansions | the Heritage Portal". Archived from the original on 2014-08-26. Retrieved 2014-08-23.
  2. "Manners Mansions details". www.artefacts.co.za. Retrieved 2018-09-27.
  3. "GAUTENG HOUSING DEVELOPMENT rental housing development AFFORDABLE HOUSING". www.gpf.org.za. Retrieved 2018-09-27.
  4. "Manners Mansions details". www.artefacts.co.za. Retrieved 2018-09-27.
  5. P. Hardygen ‘Our Building Heritage’, South African Builder magazine. 1988.
  6. Advertisement from The SA Architectural Record April 1941. xxix
  7. Article ‘Pauline’ in SA Lady’s Pictorial December 1918. 8
  8. Who’s Who in Entertainment & Sport in South Africa, 1958.146-155
  9. South Africa Who’s Who, 1946
  10. Chapters from South African History, Book One, Nathan Berger. 168
  11. Who’s Who Entertainment and Sport in Southern Africa 1958-1959. 78