Inside Cuthberts

Yesterday we were lucky enough to be taken on a rare internal tour of the landmark Cuthberts Building in the old retail district of Johannesburg. Wow is all we can say! It looks big from the outside but the scale is just massive when you get inside. It is hard to imagine what the reaction must have been when it was being built back in 1903/4 especially considering it replaced a single storey shop and warehouse! It certainly attracted large crowds during construction and continued to do so for over seventy years while Eloff and Pritchard Streets were the iconic shopping streets of the City.

Denis Radford, a famous built environment commentator at Wits in the 1970s described Cuthberts as 'amongst the best ever built in Johannesburg' and the then Institute of South African Architects praised the design and craftmanship of all the professionals involved. The building was declared a National Monument (a Provincial Heritage Site today) in 1986 as a result of the outstanding work of the Joburg 100 Committee.

Today the building is looking very tired and the upper floors are home to an army of pigeons. (the retail space is, however, occupied by a buzzing Total Sports). With the revival of the Old Retail District we hope it won't be long before the many magnificent spaces of the building come alive again!

Below is a brief excerpt from a +- 1912 publication that describes the building and the growth of the firm. Scroll to the bottom to see a phenomenal slideshow from our visit.

Johannesburg has often been cited as a city of contrasts, and one of the most striking illustrations of this is the contrast between the splendid structure known as Cuthbert's Buildings and the primitive erections which marked the beginnings of the Golden City. It is like a meeting of the marvels of twentieth century achievement with the methods of prehistoric times. Such a handsome building as that of Messrs. W. M. Cuthbert and Co., Ltd, boot and shoe importers and warehousemen at the corner of Eloff and Pritchard Streets must ever keep before us the marvelous evolution that has taken place since Johannesburg began, and such fine structures must help to make us feel proud of our wonderful city. Cuthbert's Buildings form a landmark in Johannesburg, and the remarkable success of the firm is a striking illustration of the confidence that the early pioneers had in the future great potentialities of the Rand goldfields. Such men of penetrating ideas as Mr W. M. Cuthbert, the founder of the firm, saw that the goldfields were of enormous importance to South Africa, and that Johannesburg itself would continue to be a great industrial centre. It does not matter whether there have been good times or times of singular depression: during it all such steady going firms as Cuthbert and Co., Ltd., have continued to forge ahead, and have never lost sight of the fact that the Transvaal is a great country, and that Johannesburg is the hub of South Africa - the centre of its wealth and the habitat of all that is brainiest in the sub-continent.

The now gigantic firm of Cuthbert and Co Ltd was established some twenty-five years ago in Grahamstown in a small way by Mr Cuthbert and the many branches have evolved and the factories that have been created are a striking monument to the energy, enterprise and determination of that gentleman who is the governing director of the now limited liability company. Fortune favours the brainy worker, and her wheel has always turned in Mr Cuthbert's favour, leading him to greater undertakings. A branch was established in Capetown, which proved another success, and formed an impetus to subsequent advancing development. The original Capetown premises were in Longmarket Street, near the site of their present spacious buildings at the corner of Longmarket Street and Plein Street. These are magnificent premises and quite characteristic of the firm's habitual ambition and progress.

There are about one hundred branches of the firm throughout South Africa, and the Johannesburg branch was started about twenty years ago. An important branch was opened in Port Elizabeth about nineteen years ago, while other branches are in Natal, the Orange Free State and Rhodesia.

The firm caters for every class of trade in the boot and shoe department and their trade ranges from the most popular to the highest, according to their locality and requirements. It is noted for the style of goods it supplies and for the value and variety makes of boots provided for every section of the community and every class of industry. As a matter of fact, if one desires the most fashionable style of boot, one can get it at Cuthbert's Ltd., equal to the very highest class obtainable in Bond Street or Regent Street, London. But it is possible also to obtain all other classes including their well-known miners' boots which are a specialty.