Pietermaritzburg - In the 1970s it won conservation awards, yet it stands empty, a forlorn sight on the city’s Church Street.
Originally the old Ireland's departmental store, it was built in the 1880s. When acquired by Edgars in the 1970s, the facade was saved and a new store was built behind it.
“Walking down Church Street in Pietermaritzburg, one building catches the eye and irresistibly draws one nearer. Dominating the street scene, it forms a lovely whole with the many other old buildings of historical value and the quaint and interesting arcades that form the city centre,” notes the 1979 edition of Restorica, the journal of the Simon van der Stel Foundation (today the Heritage Association of South Africa).
“The building houses a well-known departmental store, but what attracts customers isn't tempting sales offers or special low prices, but the unusual exterior. Delicate white-painted lattice-work fit to decorate any wedding cake, a wide sidewalk and larger-than-life pictures of ladies and gentlemen from grandpa's day beckoning one from between hundred-year-old carved wooden door and window frames,” it writes.
The building has a brass plate near the entrance, presented by the Pietermaritzburg Society, in recognition of Edgars’ contribution to restoring the city centre. It calls the conversion "a fine example of what imaginative business can contribute to the viable retention of a city's historic character".
The original Ireland's departmental store had a distinctive feature – not only people but horses too could enter. A 3.5m high lane led right through the centre of the building as a thoroughfare for horses to the stables at the back. The store was built up and over the alleyway.
When Edgars took over the building, it seemed as though the whole shop was not fit for use and would have to be demolished, but it was decided to retain and renovate the facade. The rest of the shop was gutted and a new interior built.
Restoration work on the frontage entailed chipping off the plaster from the original brick frontage and doing repair work. To protect the stained-glass windows on the second storey from further weather assaults, a perspex covering was applied on both sides. Where possible, it was attempted to preserve the traditional atmosphere of the old store.
Although the new shop interior does not feature a public thoroughfare, a communal lane was created between the new shop building and the adjoining attorney's offices.
The attorney's offices originally served as the home of Piet Retief's widow, before being acquired by the Hawthorne family in 1879 and converted into offices. The frontage too has also been renovated and the building declared a national monument.
The Independent on Saturday