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Town Hall - now Rondebosch library
Rondebosch, Cape Town, Western Cape
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Click to view large map Coordinates: | The establishment of the Rondebosch Town Hall was quite a long, drawn-out affair as Rondebosch became a municipality in 1886, but the Town Hall was only opened in 1899. Michael Walker recounts the story in his book The Early Architects of Cape Town. In the beginning, the new municipality operated from a cottage which became increasingly cramped. In 1888 Alfred Ebden offered a piece of land near the station and this was acquired for £644. Alexander was invited to submit plans, which he did, but these were declared too expensive. According to Walker, by 1896 Alexander had altered the plans as many as nine times! Finally, the plans were accepted, one last proviso being that the front of the town hall face the railway line. Alexander was also asked to design a coat of arms for the Rondebosch Municipality, which he did, and the stained-glass depiction of the coat of arms is still in place today. The town hall was converted into a library when Rondebosch was amalgamated into the Cape Town municipality. It recently [2023] received an over R4 million renovation. Source: Vernacular Architecture Society Newsletter Oct 2023. References:
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