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Mutual Building

Art Deco skyscrapersBuildings and structures in Cape TownCommercial buildings completed in 1940Residential skyscrapers in South AfricaSkyscrapers in Cape Town
Mutual Building Cape Town 000r
Mutual Building Cape Town 000r

The Mutual Building (Afrikaans: Mutual Gebou), in Cape Town, South Africa, was built as the headquarters of the South African Mutual Life Assurance Society, now the "Old Mutual" insurance and financial services company. It was opened in 1940, but before the end of the 1950s—less than 20 years later—business operations were already moving to another new office at Mutual Park in Pinelands (north east of the city centre); since then Old Mutual has become an international business and their present head office is in Johannesburg. The building is a fine example of art deco architecture and design, and it has many interesting internal features such as the banking hall, assembly room, directors' board room; external features include a dramatic ziggurat structure, prismoid (triangular) windows, and one of the longest carved stone friezes in the world. It has been said that it provides evidence of the colonial attitudes of the time, and the "ideals of colonial government promulgated by Rhodes in the late nineteenth century".The Mutual Building is now converted to residential use, although some parts of the building are used commercially. For example, the Banking Hall (which is now an events venue) and the retail shops that operate outside on the ground level.

Excerpt from the Wikipedia article Mutual Building (License: CC BY-SA 3.0, Authors, Images).

Mutual Building
Parliament Street, Cape Town Cape Town Ward 115

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N -33.924166666667 ° E 18.422222222222 °
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Mutual Heights

Parliament Street
8001 Cape Town, Cape Town Ward 115
Western Cape, South Africa
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Mutual Building Cape Town 000r
Mutual Building Cape Town 000r
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Cape Town
Cape Town

Cape Town (Afrikaans: Kaapstad; [ˈkɑːpstat], Xhosa: iKapa), nicknamed the Mother City, is South Africa's oldest city. It serves as the country's legislative capital, being the seat of its Parliament. It is the country's second-largest city (after Johannesburg) and the largest in the Western Cape. The city is part of the City of Cape Town metropolitan municipality. The city is known for its harbour, for its natural setting in the Cape Floristic Region, and for landmarks such as Table Mountain and Cape Point. In 2014, Cape Town was named the best place in the world to visit by both The New York Times and The Daily Telegraph.Located on the shore of Table Bay, the City Bowl area of Cape Town, is the oldest urban area in the Western Cape, with a significant cultural heritage. It was founded by the Dutch East India Company (VOC) as a supply station for Dutch ships sailing to East Africa, India, and the Far East. Jan van Riebeeck's arrival on 6 April 1652 established the VOC Cape Colony, the first permanent European settlement in South Africa. Cape Town outgrew its original purpose as the first European outpost at the Castle of Good Hope, becoming the economic and cultural hub of the Cape Colony. Until the Witwatersrand Gold Rush and the development of Johannesburg, Cape Town was the largest city in southern Africa. The city has a long coastline on the Atlantic Ocean, which includes False Bay, and extends to the Hottentots Holland mountains in the East. The Table Mountain National Park is within the city boundaries and there are several other nature reserves and marine protected areas within and adjacent to the city, protecting the diverse terrestrial and marine natural environment.