Barclays Bank Head Office - Johannesburg

 

Echoes of 1980s Johannesburg: From Vetkoek to Banking Palaces

Working in the heart of Johannesburg during the 1980s was an unforgettable experience. For the youth of that era, the city was alive with energy, packed with pubs and clubs that came alive every evening—often soundtracked by nothing more than a musician, a guitar, and a crowd of friends. While the names of many of those old favorite haunts have faded with time, the memories of that vibrant atmosphere remain vivid.

Back then, I was based at the Barclays Head Office, a massive and genuinely beautiful building that stretched between Commissioner Street and Market Street. Lunch breaks were an adventure in themselves; a popular favorite was grabbing a legendary curry mince vetkoek from the "Vetkoek Den" on Loveday Street.

In the early '80s, life felt largely carefree, and we had no trouble spending our hard-earned wages enjoying everything the city center had to offer. But the decade soon took a turbulent turn. The reality of the era hit incredibly close to home around 1984 or 1985, when a bomb exploded at the Wimpy Bar just off Rissik Street. My colleagues and I had been sitting in that very spot having lunch a mere thirty minutes before the blast.

By the end of 1987, I moved on from city center life, taking a job with Metro Cash & Carry in Ormonde. Yet, the charm and elegance of that old Barclays building always stayed with me. Curious about the history of the place I used to walk through every day, I recently did some digging, and what I discovered is fascinating.

The History Behind the Grandeur

As it turns out, the building was a masterclass in architectural evolution, seamlessly blending fifty years of design into a single, unified block:

• The Original Corner (1903–1904): Designed by famous architects Leck and Emley at the corner of Commissioner and Simmonds Streets, this late Victorian Neo-Classical structure rose 11 storeys, making it Johannesburg’s tallest office block until the 1920s. It featured a striking external copper dome and a spectacular internal glass dome that flooded the massive banking hall with natural light.

• The Market Street Extension (1953): This is the piece of history I remember so well. Designed by the legendary South African architect Gordon Leith, this extension stretched through to Market Street. Leith meticulously matched the original Neo-Classical styling and scale so perfectly that it blended seamlessly into a single "banking palace."

A Peek Inside the Fortress

The interior was built to project immense wealth and absolute security, featuring craftsmanship that is incredibly rare today. The executive spaces boasted rich mahogany counters, heavy bronze screens, intricate wood paneling, and pristine parquet flooring. Beneath it all lay massive subterranean vaults designed to handle gold bullion straight from the Witwatersrand mines.

Where It Is Today

Happily, this beautiful piece of Johannesburg's history has survived the decades intact and is now a protected provincial heritage site. Following a major urban rejuvenation project in the early 2000s, the lower banking halls were meticulously refurbished, while the upper levels were transformed into luxury inner-city residential lofts and penthouses (85 and 87 Commissioner Street). It remains a stunning monument to the Beaux-Arts era—a reminder of a time when banks were built like fortresses of art.