Flats, Vredehoek

A piece of Cape Town eye candy. These flats are in Vredehoek with the magnificent Table Mountain in the background.

Bellair Mansions, Vredehoek

Bellair Mansions, Vredehoek

Adelphi Court, Vredehoek

Adelphi Court (1939), designed by architects J Talberg & J Rubenstein.

Reference: Art Deco Architecture, Cape Town Map produced by The Cape Art Deco Society

Dunrobin, Vredehoek

Glen Alpine, Vredehoek

This absolutely fabulous Art Deco block of flats is Glen Alpine in the Cape Suburb of Vredehoek.

Dating from 1939, Glen Alpine was designed by architect Dawood Jacobs.

The location is spectacular, in the foothills of Table Mountain overlooking downtown Cape Town.

Claradave Mansions, Vredehoek

I love the names that crop up on Art Deco buildings. Claradave Mansions, you can only wonder who Clara and Dave are.

Claradave Mansions are in Vredehoek, nestled below Table Mountain overlooking the downtown area of Cape Town.

The name above the door includes the year 1934 and it would be interesting to know whether the garage built into the nearside of the building dates from that time.

The arrangement of the twin staircases hidden behind stepped walls leading from the main central entrance is very attractive.

Vredehoek Synagogue, Vredehoek

The Art Deco Architecture Cape Town Map produced by the Cape Art Deco Society includes the former synagogue in Vredehoek.

As you can see, the old synagogue has been deconsecreted, painted red and serves as premises for a variety of commercial ventures.

I wonder what the architect Dr J Ingber would think of his 1938 building with it's current colour scheme.

Flats, Vredehoek

Usually I go out of my way to avoid getting people in the way of the buildings I am photographing. Sometimes there is no way around it.

This a tour group the Cape Town suburb of Vredhoek during the 7th World Congress on Art Deco grabbing what little shade there was out of the South African sun.

This picture also goes a long to explaining why I am a bit hazy about some of the buildings I have photographed. The tour guide is in the right of this photo and as you can see I am on the other site of the road photographing the wrong building and can't hear a word of what he is saying.

Anyone in Cape Town or elsewhere who knows what this building is called, it would be greatly appreciated.

Windsor Flats, Vredehoek

Windsor is another block of flats in the Cape Town suburb of Vredehoek on the lower slopes of Table Mountain.

The building is symetrical around a central tower with a short stepped element at the roofline. The rest of the block with is set back from the tower also has a shallow step which is emphasised by the white line painted near the top of the facade against the blue-grey of the rest of the building.

The corners and structural elements of the tower are painted white providing a simple pattern.

At ground level, there is a simple communal entrance with the name, Windsor inscribed on the wall above it.

The upper floor flats at the front of the building have open balconies with a curved shelter supported by a thick round column again painted white.

The white theme is continued in the garden with the raised border of the path leading to the front door.

Victory, Vredehoek

This block of flats in the Cape Town suburb of Vredehoek is called Victory.

They date from 1941 by architect J. Bylsma.

The building is three storeys tall with a row of garages on the ground level. It is curved at each end with open balconies.

My favourite feature is the low walls either side of the steps leading up beside the building.

Geriva Mansions, Vredehoek

The Cape Town suburb of Vredehoek, in the shadow of Table Mountain, has a number of Art Deco buildings. Geriva Mansions, designed by J Bylsma in 1947, is situated on a block sloping up into the foothills of the mountain. It is a large apartment block designed in a U shape. As the building steps back up the hill, the two wings also step in creating a stronger feeling of privacy as you proceed further into the block.

The wings of this building flow inwards with a series of curved balconies most of which still remain open although several have been enclosed with modern windows. The rear section of the building by contrast is square.

Geriva Mansions looks down from the heights over downtown Cape Town and Lions head as can be seen in the photograph below.