Contact Artefacts please if you have any comments or more information regarding this record.	Menu Home Upfront Now Up Books Towns Structures People Firms Lexicon		Park Hotel - Vincent Hotel Clifton, KuGompo City (East London), Eastern Cape Henley Dawson PEARCE: Architect

Date: pre-1911 Type: Hotel Status: Demolished c1968   Click to view large map Coordinates: 32°59'03.38" S 27°54'13.80" E Alt: 102m

(LRIBA nom papers 1911) The East London and Frontier Red Book of 1911 includes an illustrated advertisement for Flohr's Park Hotel situated at Main Street, Clifton, with Henry A. Magnus listed as the Proprietor. The advert notes that: "THIS beautiful Suburban Hotel is situated within two miles of East London, about 15 minutes walk from Oxford St. Tram Terminus and 7 minutes from either Chiselhurst or Clifton Stations. The extensive and magnificent Park-like ground and Tea Gardens, complete with Tennis Court, Skittle Alley, Swings, Round-about, &c., commend it as an ideal resort for Visitors and Townspeople and a paradise for children. The Hotel is replete with every convenience, and best Liquors and Cigars only stocked. Terms moderate, special rates for families on application. Trains and Boats met on receipt of Telegram or Post Cards." The East London and Frontier Red Book of 1913 also records the Park Hotel's address at Main Street, Clifton. The East London and Frontier Red Book of 1948 records the Park Hotel's address at 28 Devereux Avenue, under the proprietor M V Cohen. A Plan of East London published by the East London Publicity Association in 1948 and compiled by Neville Lero, shows a large open area called Clifton Park, bounded by the suburbs of Berea, Stirling and Nahoon. Clifton Park was bisected by Devereux Avenue and shows Clifton School on the site of what is today Hudson Park High School. The Park Hotel was apparently situated on the site of what is known as the Vincent Park Shopping Centre and was demolished to make way for this development. There was a scenic park at the back of the Hotel with a stream running where the entrance to the Shopping Centre is from the underground car park. The main road which bisected Clifton and was ultimately named Devereux Avenue, was upgraded and widened in 1966/1967. Prior to that it was a single lane, tree lined street, the main thoroughfare in the area. The 1960's reconstruction was the first phase of the East London Municipality’s arterial roads programme and much controversy apparently accompanied its development. The road had been named after W. Devereux, Chairman of the Cambridge Village Management Board from 1920 -1922. In the East London and Frontier Red Book of that period, in the Cambridge section, under the alphabetical list of residents, W. Devereux was listed as an accountant residing at Alexandra Road. References: East London and Frontier Red Book 1911 East London: The Standard Printing Company, 1911, pp 48 Lero, Neville Plan of East London, East London Publicity Association, 1948 Thanks to Glenn Hartwig of the East London Reference Library for locating the various published references. William A. Martinson, October 2023 All truncated references not fully cited below are those of Joanna Walker's original text and cited in full in the 'Bibliography' entry of the Lexicon.