Arts, Culture & Heritage
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Blue Plaque Sites

The Tents

Table of Contents

About The Tents

Developed in association with the Johannesburg Heritage Foundation. A panel below the plaque reads: ÒThis plaque was made possible by a donation from the Lithuanian Embassy to South AfricaÓ

Address

8 Grove Road, Mountain View
3 June 2021

Inscription

THE TENTS Pioneering architect Hermann Kallenbach purchased this site in 1909. He and his friend M K Gandhi camped in a bell tent on the hillside until Kallenbach built a thatched stone rondavel. Gandhi stayed here on occasion with Kallenbach as did Indian statesman G.K. Gokhale during his 1912 South African tour. In 1913 the Mountain View property was a gathering point for the satyagrahis during the third Indian civil rights campaign led by Gandhi. In 1923 Kallenbach and Alexander Kennedy designed the main house on the property for the new owner, A Verwey.

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.

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