Sixty-two Queen Victoria Street, which houses the Centre for the Book in Cape Town, turns 100 this year. To mark the occasion, the centre has launched the first phase of a permanent exhibition documenting the history of the building.
The building, designed by Hawke and McKinlay, has at various times been referred to as “a white elephant”, “a cultural landmark” and “one of the most beautiful buildings given to the Mother City of South Africa”. This grand old building is considered one of the finest examples of Edwardian architecture in the country. It was home to the University of the Cape of Good Hope, the examination and degree-conferring body for the Victoria College and the South African College before they became the universities of Stellenbosch and Cape Town respectively.
In 1918, when the University of the Cape of Good Hope became the University of South Africa and UCT was inaugurated as a new body, the then vice chancellor Justice Searle gave an address “Exit the old, enter the new”, which is still appropriate both to the centre and the country.
After alterations the Cape archives were in the building from 1934 until they were moved to the old Roeland Street gaol site in 1989. The building was renovated between 1992 and 1997 by the public works department, who commissioned architects Rennie and Scurr.
Even in the early days, the building was at the heart of the book world. Keerom Street was home to a number of publishers: Purnell & Sons at 97 Keerom, while Balkema was at 93. Olive Schreiner received an honorary doctorate from the University of the Cape of Good Hope in 1913, and was considered one of “a scanty band of South African writers”.
When 62 Queen Victoria Street was allocated to the South African Library, the idea began of establishing a Centre for the Book in the library, with the aim of stimulating interest in reading and books. Further impetus followed the visit by Piet Westra, director of the South African Library, to the Center for the Book in the Library of Congress in Washington DC.
Initially, it was thought that the centre would be an extension of the library’s activities. However, with the transition to democracy in 1994, it was important to take a fresh look at its role. Elisabeth Anderson was appointed as the first head of the centre in January 1998. Under her leadership, it has become a specialist unit of the National Library and a catalyst for book development in South Africa. The building houses some of the National Library’s collections and showcases South African publishing in the Great Hall; it literally has books at its very core. The work of the Centre for the Book radiates out nationally, towards a future where easy access to books in all languages for all ages will become a reality in this country.
Anderson explains: “What I love is that now, from out of the building, comes all the information, support and advocacy that has led to a wide range of small publications by writers and writing groups reflecting a different reading world from the past. And similarly we’ve made possible books for babies and very young children, never dared before in this country. All South African children can grow to love and appreciate them instead of having to rely on stories from the colonial past and the neo-colonial present. This building, so colonial and establishment in appearance, now houses a cutting-edge organisation. It’s what is wonderful about South Africa right now; we can subvert these colonial symbols.”
“It is used by the widest possible public: kids in preschools, adult literacy learners, teenagers attending writing workshops, and famous writers,” Anderson continues. “Instead of displaying leather-bound tomes, the Great Hall showcases current South African books in all languages, celebrating the new vibrancy in publishing here. The building’s old-fashioned beauty is still appreciated for its timelessness by all who enter it.”
Vanessa Davidson is operations manager at the Centre for the Book