Buildings,  Cape Town, SA

Cape Town Clock Tower

I am starting a series of buildings I visited and this one will be the first one.


The Clock Tower building from the bridge angle.

In 1860, the very first load of stone for the V&A Waterfront’s breakwater was laid. The resulting harbour would become instrumental in establishing a trade route that would turn a small coastal town into a thriving community. It was here, at the water’s edge, that the Clock Tower played host to the Captain’s Office – a vantage point from which he directed the trade that built an entire city. This was the original Port Captain’s Office completed in 1882.

The Victorian clocktower with its Gothic characteristics has always been an icon of the old docks at  Table Bay Harbour, Cape Town (now V & A Waterfront) and has become an important focal point in the Waterfront’s recent urban design. Restoration of the Clock Tower was completed towards the end of 1997. The topmost floor housed the clock mechanism, while the bottom floor housed the elaborate tide-gauge operated by a float on the water below. This clock tower is listed as one of the heritage sites in the Cape by the South African Heritage Resource Agency.

The Clock Tower Centre, across the swingbridge from the Pierhead, is the latest addition to the V&A Waterfront’s retail offering. It brings South African crafts, arts, designs and foods together in one centre, along with facilities appealing to tourists and locals alike.

So if you are in Cape Town, do visit this clock tower situated at V & A Waterfront. Here are more pictures from my archive:


The Clock Tower from across-the-swingbridge angle.


My husband adding to Clock Tower picturesqueness.


Seagulls like to perch on the roof.


Close-up of the clock, shot using my power lens.


Birds perching on the iron railing at the topmost floor.

 

Information about the building:
http://citysightseeing-blog.co.za/2010/05/11/clocktower/
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_heritage_sites_in_the_Cape
http://www.waterfront.co.za/Documents/VA%20Clock%20Tower%20PFB.pdf

 

 

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