Durban - Our old picture this week features Esplanade Mansions on the corner of Aliwal Street (today Samora Machel) and the Victoria Embankment (today Magaret Mncadi Avenue).
The picture was published in the Daily News on November 21, 1968 with the caption: “Lever Brothers plans to build its South African headquarters on the site of the old Esplanade Mansions on the corner of Aliwal Street and the Victoria Embankment.”
The original building was erected in 1932 and designed by acclaimed Durban architect Arthur Ritchie Mackinlay.
Nearby was the famed art deco building Victoria Mansions at 124 Margaret Mncadi Avenue, built in 1933 and designed by E S Cornelius which stands today. The Independent on Saturday has featured Albert Park Mansions on the Embankment, another beautiful art deco block pulled down in the ’60s.
The replacement building still stands as Shelley Kjonstad’s pictures show. Today, the building is used by Mancosa for their Doctor of Business Administration, research and finance offices, as the Unilever head office is now in uMhlanga. The ground floor premises are available to let.
The Independent on Saturday