Arts, Culture & Heritage
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Blue Plaque Sites

Somerset House

Table of Contents

About Somerset House

Developed by the Johannesburg Heritage Foundation in consultation with the City of Joburg

Address

Fox Street, Gandhi Square
6 September 2019

Inscription

SOMERSET HOUSE Somerset House was built in 1906 for the United Building Society. The buildingÕs Edwardian classicism, symbolising stability and permanence, is attributed to architect R.L. McCowat. United moved to larger premises in 1928, and the buildingÕs new owners replaced the fascadeÕs arched windows with shopfronts and converted the banking hall into a retail arcade in 1930, but the basement safety deposit boxes remained until 2000. It has many notable original features, including art-nouveau tiles. Restoration of the building in 2018 by Olitzki Property Holdings included re-opening the arcade into Gandhi Square.

Photo courtesy: Kabelo Mokoena (Sunday Times)

Explore Joburg

A culmination of research gathered over many years, the Online Johannesburg Heritage Register is being launched on Nelson Mandela Day 18 July 2025.

Among the many heritage sites featured is Chancellor House, the downtown offices of Mandela and Tambo Attorneys in the 1950s. After having been vacant and shuttered for more than a decade, this iconic building is being revived and brought to life once again as offices for the Community Development Department, which oversees the City’s Arts, Culture & Heritage Services.

Browse Heritage Sites