Hollywood on the Vlei: the remarkable Gloria Heights

Muizenberg has a unique and varied built landscape that extends from Het Posthuys, possibly the second oldest extant structure in South Africa, to notable examples of Victorian, Edwardian, Art Deco and Modern Movement architecture. Gloria Heights is one of the most important examples of residential architecture in Muizenberg, and certainly the most significant residential structure from the 1930s. Occupying a corner site, it was meant to be viewed in the round, and architect Kenneth Commin took great care in its external form and architectural detailing. The interior is even more important, as it showcases a number of materials (for example, in its use of chrome ironmongery) and design techniques (for example, in the use of marbled stucco plaster) that are unique to the period. The house has the most intact Art Deco interior known in Muizenberg, and possibly in the whole of Cape Town.