NZASM Goods Office, Railway Street, Pretoria

The building was erected by the Netherlands-South Africa Railway Co, probably in 1896, and is the largest and best remaining example of the Company's architecture in Pretoria. It was declared a National Monument under old NMC legislation on 2 October 1981. The building was again restored in the early 1960s. However, before this it was vacant and as a result became vandalized. Situated on the Western side of Railway Street, opposite the Belgrave Hotel. Once the scheduled train services to Elandsfontein and Komatipoort came into operation, goods and passenger traffic increased considerably. In the course of 1896 more space for the necessary administrative work in this respect was provided. A double-storied brick building with side gables and dormer windows was constructed. The builder is unknown. There are original plans of this building in the Plan Room of SATS, showing the two floors fitted with numerous shelves for the storage of timetables, leaflets, tickets, manuals etc.  The building later was converted into offices by the CSAR.   Its existence was endangered when it was decided to demolish it in 1969 on account of its poor condition. As a result of an appeal by the Simon van der Stel Foundation the SAR restored the building. The old NZASM store for printed matter is the sole survivor of the company's office buildings in Pretoria. For this reason it was declared a National Monument!