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.

Sacha's singles Club

I just thought of another one, so I never learnt to drive until I was 21 or so but my friend C was driving from 16 and working.   She would always pick me up and take me out to clubs and places and that is how I got into clubbing.

It must have been around '82 that we went to a new club she had heard about in the Hyde Park Shopping center.  It was a very sophisticated nightclub and we really just went there to dance and to meet guys who would pay for our drinks.  Because it was on the northside of town it was also very Larney and Posh.

I don't remember why they had it in the shopping center, if anyone does please let me know!   But I do remember that they would always play the latest music, they had the greatest disco lights.  But the songs will always be with me, like "Can't take my eyes off you", Yazoo, Softcell, John Cougar, Chicago and just so many great songs.

They did eventually move out of Hyde Park Shopping Center, over to the Hyde Park Hotel and then later Sacha's became Blue Jeans and I think it all just went downhill from then on.  Probably around 1983.

I can't even find a photo on Google, could you imagine if we had mobile phones with cameras on in the 80's and 90's there would be so many memories we could share!

If my memory serves me correct, it did look a little like this:

The Stander Gang

The Stander Gang were a gang who were on the run in the early 80's for Robbing a bank, and did they not rent a house in the street behind us and live there quite happily for a few months until the Cops caught up with them.

I even remember walking past the house they rented on many occasions and seeing the sports cars in the driveway, little did we know.

Here is the story:   http://www.africacrime-mystery.co.za/books/fsac/chp20.htm

André Stander

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André Stander
Born	André Charles Stander 22 November 1946 Gauteng, South Africa
Died	13 February 1984 (aged 37) Fort Lauderdale, Florida, U.S.
Known for	Bank robberies
Police career
Branch	South African Police
Department	Kempton Park CID
Service years	1963–1980
Rank	Captain

André Charles Stander (22 November 1946 – 13 February 1984) was a South African criminal and policeman. One of the most infamous bank robbers in South Africa's history, Stander was notorious for the audacious manner with which he carried out his crimes: he sometimes carried out the crime on his lunch break, often returning to the scene as an investigating officer.^[1]

Stander was portrayed by American actor Thomas Jane in the 2003 film Stander.

Police career[edit]

The son of a prominent figure in the South African Prison Service, Major General Frans Stander, André was under pressure from an early age to pursue a career in law enforcement. He enrolled at the South African Police training college near Pretoria in 1963, graduating at the top of his class. Shortly afterwards he joined the Kempton Park criminal investigation department.^[2]

Criminal activities[edit]

Robberies[edit]

Zonderwater prison

In 1977, Stander flew to Durban and robbed his first bank. Between 1977 and 1980, he is believed to have stolen nearly a hundred thousand rand.^[2]

After robbing nearly 30 banks, Stander was arrested and sentenced to 75 years in prison on 6 May 1980.^[1] However, since many of the charges in the sentence ran concurrently, he faced an actual sentence of 17 years.^[3] Stander met Allan Heyl and Lee McCall at the Zonderwater maximum security prison.^[1]

Motivation[edit]

After his first trial, Stander claimed that his disillusionment with police service stemmed from a prior incident when he and his fellow officers shot and killed over twenty unarmed black residents of Thembisa during the 1976 Soweto uprising. However, Stander was not present with the police contingent at Thembisa when the alleged shooting took place.^[2]

Other accounts have suggested that Stander, who completed his national service in Angola during the South African Border War, may have also been bored with civilian life and craved the excitement afforded by a life of crime.^[4]

Stander Gang[edit]

On 11 August 1983, Stander and McCall, along with five other inmates, were taken from its premises for a physiotherapy appointment. Once the prisoners were left alone with the physiotherapist, Stander and McCall overpowered her and escaped. The other prisoners refused to participate and stayed behind.^[5]

Stander and McCall returned to Zonderwater on 31 October 1983, in order to spring Allan Heyl from the facility where he was taking a trade test. From that day until the end of January 1984, the three began robbing banks together, under the nom de guerre of the Stander Gang – a term coined by the news media.

McCall was killed on 30 January 1984, in a police raid on the gang's hide-out in Houghton Estate, Gauteng. Heyl fled to Greece, then England, then Spain, and eventually back to England, where he was caught, tried, and sentenced to nine years in prison for robbery and a related firearms charge. After serving his time in the UK, he was extradited back to South Africa where he was sentenced to a further 33 years in prison. Heyl was released on parole on 18 May 2005.

While police were closing in on McCall in South Africa, Stander had been in Fort Lauderdale, Florida, trying to arrange for the sale of the gang's recently purchased sailing yacht—the Lilly Rose—that they planned to use for their final getaway once they had acquired enough money.

Florida and death[edit]

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While Stander remained in the United States, international arrest warrants and all points bulletins were issued for his arrest. Trying to make the best of the situation, Stander created the false identity of an Australian author named "Peter Harris" and forged a driver's license. Afterwards, he visited a used car lot and purchased a Ford Mustang from a dealer named Anthony Tomasello. On 10 February 1984, police pulled Stander over while he was driving and arrested him for driving an unregistered vehicle. Being relatively unknown to the American authorities at that time, Stander presented his false ID to the police, who recognized it as a forgery and subsequently seized it—adding driver's license forgery to his list of offenses—but believed his story about his identity and released him.

Once released on the same evening, Stander returned to the police impound lot where his seized Mustang was being kept, broke in and stole the car. On the following morning, Stander returned to the same used car lot where he had purchased the vehicle and asked the same dealer, Tomasello, to have the car re-painted in a different colour. However, Tomasello had just read about the Stander Gang in a local newspaper. He told Stander that he would help him, got his information, and as soon as Stander had left, Tomasello called his lawyer. On his lawyer's advice, Tomasello called the local police.^[2]

Based on Tomasello's information, a police tactical unit surrounded the apartment that Stander had been using as a hideout, but Stander was not there. He had acquired a bicycle to use while his car was with Tomasello to be repainted. He had left the apartment on the bicycle and returned only after the police had surrounded it. As he unknowingly rode up to the apartment complex, officer Michael van Stetina—who had been posted on the perimeter—recognised Stander and attempted to stop him.

Stander tried to get away, but as Stetina prevented his escape a struggle for the officer's shotgun began. The gun discharged and Stander was hit; he fell onto the apartment complex's driveway, bleeding profusely. Stetina immediately radioed for an ambulance. Although officer Stetina tried to administer first aid, Stander's wounds were too extensive and he bled to death before an ambulance arrived.^[2]