In the process of identifying tourist attractions in Kimberley, the emphasis falls time and again on the historical importance of the architecture of Old Kimberley. In late-Victorian & Edwardian Kimberley every style of robust architecture was represented. Public buildings boasted elaborate brick facades topped with urns, gables and pediments; stores were fronted with decorative cast iron balconies and hotels sprouted fanciful turrets.
The outstanding feature of most of the buildings from this period was the wood and iron verandah. The verandah became the status symbol and these ranged from plain wooden poles supporting a straight corrugated iron roof, to quite elaborate combinations of Chinese, Chippendale and latticework supporting curved iron canopies. |
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The character of architecture in South Africa had been influenced directly by climate, available materials social structure and fluctuations in prosperity at specific periods. It has been said that what was characteristic of the 19th century architecture was that there was no typical or consistent way of building which could be called a ‘style’. The choice of ‘style’ for a building by both clients and their architects was an arbitrary and personal one, seldom related to the purpose of the building, its surrounding or method of construction. Politics, religious convictions, fashion and romantic associations determined the selection.
Nonetheless an architectural style peculiar to the Kimberley of this period did emerge. Increasing ornateness characterized architecture in the 1890’s. The building boom which followed the new prosperity exploited the manufactured materials of the Industrial age. In the 1890’s an enormous volume of cast iron and other ready-made components were imported into South Africa. |
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