Our old pictures this week focus on South Beach and a building that was called Durban Sands and is today the apartment block 10 South. Situated at 10 Gillespie Street, the 15-storey building takes up the whole block bordered by Rutherford and Hitchens streets and Sturdee Place.
The original two pictures were published on September 3, 1988 and dealt with a refurbishment of the block happening at the time. In a sign post on the main building, you can see the apartments advertised, with the block “now under total renovation” and being marketed by Ovland. There is no information on when the block was built, but it would appear to be a 1960s building.
The story attached to the original picture is headlined “Durban Sands leisure deck ‘in the sky’”.
It reads: “A swimming pool constructed 20 meters above the ground is the feature of a major renovation project undertaken at Durban’s South Beach timeshare resort Durban Sands recently.
“The 1 300 sq m leisure deck in the sky at Durban Sands, comprising a 9-hole putt putt course, a swimming pool and braai area, with a squash court, sauna and gym facilities on the floor below, was launched this week.
“The construction of the 10m by 7m pool on the fourth floor of an existing building which could not support the weight of the pool, called for a unique design. This was achieved with 11m long piles, supporting four columns, constructed independently through the existing car park floors to the leisure deck.”
Ovland Timesharing managing director Trevor Coppen says in the article: “What we actually have is a swimming pool on ‘stilts’ It is very important to us that we build the pool, regardless of the cost.”
Today, while no longer timeshare, the building is run as holiday flats to let. The putt putt course has been astroturfed, but the pool and braai area is used by residents.
The Spar, today a kwikSpar, is very much a feature on the Rutherford Street side of the building. The famed LGBT+ nightclub Axis was under the Spar in the 1990s.
The Independent on Saturday