Chancellor House, the iconic building which housed the law offices of Nelson Mandela and Oliver Tambo in the Joburg CBD, is being restored for the second time in 14 years — this time at a cost of R2m.
After lying neglected, abandoned and vandalised for many years, the City of Joburg’s community development department — which oversees arts, heritage and culture — is expected to take occupation before the end of the year.
The newly revamped premises will also serve as an inner-city tourist attraction with an information desk for visitors.
Situated on the corner of Fox and Gerard Sekoto streets in Ferreirastown, opposite the magistrate’s court, the three-storey heritage building is owned by the City of Joburg.
Eric Itzkin, the city’s deputy director of immovable heritage at the directorate of arts, culture & heritage, said the building was previously restored in 2011 at a cost of R10m by the Johannesburg Development Agency (JDA), but because it was not occupied after the renovations were completed it slid back into semi-decline.
He said it was unoccupied because donors attempting to raise funds to turn it into a legal resource centre were unable to do so.
“The building has been standing vacant, a wasted resource, for many years. With little security, it has suffered vandalism to the exterior — though thankfully it has been spared any major damage. It has also been at risk of illegal occupation, as happened previously, because there are numerous homeless people surrounding the site,” he said.
Built in the early 1940s, Chancellor House was one of the few buildings in downtown Joburg where black people could rent offices, thanks to the Essa family, the amenable Indian owners.
Kosi’s Café occupied the ground floor of the building and was one of the few places where black and white customers could mingle freely, Itzkin said.
During the 1950s, Mandela and Tambo Attorneys, at the time the only black-owned legal firm in South Africa, moved in upstairs and became a vital resource for black South Africans seeking justice under apartheid, with daily queues of clients needing representation against discriminatory laws.
“From these offices, across the road from the magistrate’s court, Mandela and Tambo challenged apartheid laws, backed in later years by a team that included Duma Nokwe, Ruth Mompati, Mendi Msimang, Godfrey Pitje and others.
“Its location, near the chief magistrate’s offices, was ironic. With the help of advocate Jules Browde, they successfully opposed attempts to enforce the Group Areas Act by simply being there,” he said.
Their law offices stayed open until 1960 when Tambo left South Africa to head the ANC’s external mission after the Sharpeville Massacre.
With increased apartheid repression, Mandela went underground and the ANC was banned. Chancellor House ceased functioning as a legal office and fell into private hands. It was used sporadically for various businesses but began to deteriorate.
The area around the precinct experienced changes due to apartheid spatial planning, including forced removals and business relocations. This led to the CBD experiencing growing urban decay from the late 1980s onward.
Chancellor House became increasingly derelict, with broken windows, water damage and structural degradation. Squatters and vagrants occupied the building intermittently and, despite its history, the building was largely forgotten by the public and neglected.
With the end of apartheid in 1994 and renewed interest in South Africa’s liberation history, efforts to trace the sites connected to Mandela intensified, said Itzkin.
However, the building was still privately owned and continued to fall into ruin.
In 2004, the South African Heritage Resources Agency declared it a provincial heritage site and the city, with backing from the Nelson Mandela Foundation, launched a campaign to restore Chancellor House.
“Over the decade 2000 to 2010, the privately-owned building was occupied by homeless people. It suffered fire damage, fell into massive decline and was reduced to ruins,” said Itzkin.
“In a move which saved the building, Chancellor House was then expropriated by the council for use as a heritage site, and 68 homeless people were relocated to a shelter. By 2011, it was successfully rehabilitated.”
An exhibition was installed on the ground floor in the form of a series of giant posters documenting the history of the building set up in front of all the windows for passers-by to view.
Rare photographs, secret police documents and other archival material about the legendary law practice are some of the highlights of the exhibition which remain there today, said Itzkin.
The city has appointed the JDA as the implementing agency to carry out repairs and refitting of the building, and to ensure compliance with building and safety requirements.
“Building repairs are starting and 24-hour security has been deployed. By the end of this year, the community development department will be taking up offices there.
“This will help to secure the building, which has been at risk of invasion, and to realise its potential as a heritage resource. The ground floor will be further developed as exhibition space serving as an important inner city attraction for local and international tourists,” said Itzkin.
Directly across the road from Chancellor House stands The Shadow Boxer, a large figure of Nelson Mandela boxing, made from painted mild steel and standing 5-6 metres high.
Itzkin says the sculpture highlights the significance of boxing as a potential metaphor for the legal system, specifically in South Africa during the 1950s, as well as a representation of Mandela during this significant time in South Africa’s history.
“Boxing is a sport and a physical contest, an ordered and controlled system of combat and contestation. Mandela boxing is symbolic of the fight for equality, dignity and human rights.
“The sculpture serves as a symbolic reminder of the potential for disparity between law and justice and the need for transparency and accountability in the service of the rights of all citizens and residents. Its position in relation to the main entrance of the magistrate’s court signifies the site as one of public engagement,” said Itzkin.
The Johannesburg Heritage Foundation has welcomed the renovations.
Spokesperson David Fleminger said: “We are happy that a good productive tenant like a city department is moving in. This will greatly assist with security of this heritage site. We also welcome the fact that it will become a tourism office which will bring people to the CBD and therefore contribute to the development of the city,” he said.
Fleminger said the foundation was working with the Presidential Johannesburg Working Group on the neglected heritage aspects of the city.
“We meet regularly. These heritage sites must be restored and tenanted to contribute to the city’s development,” he said, adding that the group would be closely monitoring the Chancellor House renovations.
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