place

Café Riche, Pretoria

Art Nouveau architecture in South AfricaBuildings and structures in PretoriaCommercial buildings completed in 1905Wikipedia references cleanup from November 2019
Cafe Riche Church Square Pretoria 026
Cafe Riche Church Square Pretoria 026

Café Riche is on the corner of Parliament and WF Nkomo Streets, adjoining Church Square, Pretoria, South Africa. The building was designed by the Dutch architect Frans Soff and built in 1905. Soff also designed the National Women's Monument in Bloemfontein with Anton van Wouw. The building was originally known as the Investment Building, but due to Café Riche's popularity, the original name was forgotten. Café Riche is one of the oldest restaurants in Pretoria. The building was designed in the Art Nouveau style popular in Europe from 1894 to 1914. The stone owl on the concrete pedestal, as well as the artwork of 'Mercurius,' is also the work of Van Wouw. The window frames and doors came from the Toringkerk, the second and last church in Church Square with a tower. Café Riche was declared a Provincial Heritage Site and recognized under Article 34 of the National Heritage Resources Act (Law 25/1999), because it was over 60 years old.

Excerpt from the Wikipedia article Café Riche, Pretoria (License: CC BY-SA 3.0, Authors, Images).

Café Riche, Pretoria
Church Street, Pretoria Tshwane Ward 60

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N -25.74669 ° E 28.18724 °
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Café Riche

Church Street
0126 Pretoria, Tshwane Ward 60
Gauteng, South Africa
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Cafe Riche Church Square Pretoria 026
Cafe Riche Church Square Pretoria 026
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Nearby Places

Ou Raadsaal
Ou Raadsaal

The Ou Raadsaal (English: Old Council Hall) is a historic building in Pretoria, South Africa, located on the south side of Church Square. The Ou Raadsaal housed the Volksraad, the parliament of the South African Republic, from 1891 to 1902.The Ou Raadsaal was commissioned in the late 19th century by the South African Republic as the new seat of government in Pretoria, and was designed by Dutch architect Sytze Wierda in a Renaissance Revival style. The contract for construction was granted to John Johnstone Kirkness, a builder from the Orkney Islands with a prolific building career in the region, at a sum of £82,500. Construction began in February 1889 with the cornerstone laid by President Paul Kruger on 6 May that year, and the work was completed in December 1891. The Transvaal Museum was established in 1892 in the upper floor of Ou Raadsaal, but was soon moved to a separate location when the room was deemed too small for the collection. In 1902, the South African Republic was annexed by the United Kingdom after its defeat in the Second Boer War, abolishing the Volksraad, and the Ou Raadsaal became vacant. In 1999, the Ou Raadsaal was declared a Provincial Heritage Site and is protected in terms of Section 34 of the National Heritage Resources Act (Act 25 of 1999), as it is over 60 years old. The building is also known in English as the Old Council Chamber or Old Government Building, and in Afrikaans as the Republikeinse Raadsaal.