Page 24 - Bulletin 4 2000

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The Second Muizenberg Pavilion (1929 - 1972)

Ever since municipal unification in 1913 the Cape Town City Council had been considering

extensive beach improvements at Muizenberg. These were based on an ambitious scheme drawn
up in 1913 by Mr R. A. Piercy, who was Resident Engineer for the construction of the Cape

Town Pier (1913). Piercy’s scheme dealt with the coastline from roughly Bailey’s Cottage to just
north of the Zand Vlei mouth. It proposed “….. a wide promenade, pier, bathing pavilion and

entertainment hall, bathing pools, shelters, laying out gardens, etc., and the control of the water

level of the Zand Vlei.” (City of Cape Town, 1926.) The scheme was delayed due to the war
years, the post-war economic slump, and state ownership of the foreshore between high and low

water marks. To overcome the latter and vest ownership of the foreshore in the Council a special

Act of Parliament was required: City of Cape Town (Muizenberg Beach) Improvement Act,
1925.

The wooden pavilion therefore survived until 1930 when it was superseded by a grandly

conceived concrete / brick structure. It was described as “…. an imposing edifice complete with
magnificent appointments without parallel in the Southern Hemisphere.” (City of Cape Town,

1930.) These included a theatre, dance hall, restaurant, rest rooms and showers, and viewing

promenade. It was completed in 1929 by Messrs. Murray and Stewart to Architect W. H. Grant’s
design. (Fig. 2.8 – 2.10.) The total cost in round figures was £200,000 and it was opened on 14

December 1929 by the Administrator of the Cape, Mr. J. H. Conradie. Both the old and new
pavilions survived side by side until mid - 1930 when the old one made way for a chalet costing

£3,700, 21 bathing boxes for daily letting and 30 sites for private bathing boxes. (Fig. 2.11.)

The second pavilion stood from 1929 to the early 1970s when it was demolished due to the

excessively high maintenance costs. The steel rods within the concrete columns had rusted and
expanded causing a condition known as spalling where huge pieces of concrete simply fell off

the columns. This condition was evident not only on the columns but also in the concrete of the
main structure. The proximity of the sea exacerbated the problems of corrosion and spalling, and

a decision to demolish the pavilion in toto was taken at the end of the 1960s. For nearly ten years

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