March 28, 2003
By Thomas Thale
LIKE a phoenix from the ashes, The Drill Hall is poised to rise again. The historic building, which was gutted by fire in April last year, is to be restored and upgraded for use as military barracks and as a public open space.
A council meeting last week approved an allocation of R10-million for the reconstruction of the building. Construction on site is expected to commence soon. The project will be completed before the end of the year.
The former military barracks will still retain its military past, with two units, the National Reserve Forces Council, a reserve force battalion and the Rand Light Infantry, being housed in the revamped northern wing.
In terms of the council plan, the southern wing of the building will be demolished to make way for a proposed open square. The plan could see Quartz Street being closed between Plein and DeVelliers "to extend the square to the adjacent building, Action Cinema". The square will then be used as a site of much cultural activity.
Once completed the site will "form part of the historical and cultural tourism trail of the inner city", the council report says.
The South African Heritage Resources Agency (SAHRA) has welcomed the planned development, and is working closely with the city in finalising the proposed design. "We want to retain as much of the remaining building as possible, because of its heritage value," says Thabo Kgomommu, manager of SAHRA in Gauteng. SAHRA is the official custodian of heritage sites in the country.
Tshepo Nkosi, spokesman of the Johannesburg Development Agency, a city owned company behind the development, said the city will not proceed with its plans without SAHRA approval. "We consider the agency to be a critical partner in our quest to regenerate the inner city," he explained.
The Drill Hall was built in 1904 and was used by the military until 1992. The recruitment and mobilization of the army for both world wars was conducted from the building. Because of its size, the complex served as a courtroom for the 1956 treason trial in which 156 activists were charged with conspiracy to overthrow the apartheid government. Former president Nelson Mandela, one of the accused in the trial, in his autobiography, described the building as "a great bare barn of a building with a corrugated iron roof, and considered the only public building large enough to support a trial of so many accused."
Kgomommu disclosed that SAHRA intends to have the Drill Hall declared a national monument once its restoration has been completed.
