The Birmingham age-herald. [volume] (Birmingham, Ala.) 1902-1950, 1903-07-10
KAFFlRLAND IN LONDON.
Palace of Great South African Corpora
lions In British Metropolis.
From the London Leader.

From the London Leader.
Where is the capital of financial and
commercial South Africa In an Is
land of Portland stone that rises in bold
and impressive beauty not far from the
Bank of England,
This noble pile on the site Of old Lon
don wall is decidedly one of the most
striking of new Londons architectural
attractions. London Wall buildings win
be Its name. but it is really SoGth Africa
in London. The British South Africa
company (Which has already taken up
its quarters therel and the firm Of WeIn-
her.
Belt & Co. (Which moves in shortly
will occupy about a third Of the great
structure. Altogether upwards of fifty
financial, trading and mining corpora
lions doing business In South Africa have
arranged for their headquarters therein.
The National Bank of South Africa, the
Rand Mines, Robinson Rose Deep and
others. twenty Transyaal mining COM
panies, the Cape Electric tramways, the
Cape Consolidated tramways and so on
all are being accommodated. 1t will be
South African colony in a very decided
sense. The London Walls Estate COM
pany, which owns this isle" of bricks
and mortar, has its office in the build
ing. and this Is a sort of link with Lon
don of the other and not so African,
order.
The building, great as 1t is, has been
raised In about year and nine months.
1t has frontages to London wall, Bloom
field street, Circus place and Finsbury
circus. Palatial is a modest term to APP
ply to 1t. The site itself is leased from
the corporation for eighty years at a
rental of $4,000. Land In the Bank
region is taken as worth seven shillings
an inch, or more. A room in the same
quarter has been rented at more than
$4,000 a year. The style is mainly re-
naissance, with q tendency to Italian.
There are, points and lines that suggest
buildings in old French cathedral cities.
There are no less than ten floors, includ-
ing one partly and one wh9iiy below the
street. The roofs are asphaltcd flats.
The whole building Is wired for tele-
phone and electric light The heating
will be by hot water and radiators.
One noteworthy point is that this
South African colony In London will be
quite Independent of the London water
companies for Its water supply. Two
shafts have been sunk to depth of 450
feet, at which a fine spring was tapped
Some 5000 gallons per hour can be
pumped by the electric motors. and there
is storage space for 10000 gallons in the
tanks in the roofs.
Within the great building Of course,
many matters are still only in a prepar-
atory stage. BY and by there will be
various South African features" One
is TO be museum with specimens of ores
and kindred things from Rhodesia
For the lover of detail number of
particular items may be added. No less
than 10000 cubic feet of Portland stone
and $500 tons of steel have been used in
the building. Seven and a half millions
of bricks have been utilized. Placed end
on end they would extend from London
to Gibraltar. Five Scotch cranes, 100 feet
high, have been at work. There have
been 5000 scaffold poles, which set end
on end would extend distance of thirty
five miles, There were $1,000 planks. End
on end these would measure thirty-six
miles Some 5000 cords which altogeth-
er would extend for fifty-seven miles,
were used during the progress of the
work. There were 10000 put" logs
So much for mechanical and kindred
details. As to the human element, 1000
men of all trades have been engaged on
the building. These points will show
what a world Of energy has been in
action in the erection of South Africa's
London center on London wall.
The structure Is in sections, and has
five entrances. The general effect, how
ever, is one Of imposing unity ana COM
pieteness.