The Union Buildings
The Union Buildings overlook the city of Pretoria from the top of Meintjieskop and were completed in 1913, three years after the Formation of the Union. The structure was designed by Sir Herbert Baker in the neo-Classical style and incorporate an amphitheatre. Local red sandstone was used, but Baker first tested the new material by building the Pretoria Station in 1909.
Andries Francois du Toit (1813-1883) was the original owner of the land on which the Union Buildings were built. He was also Pretoria’s first magistrate and was responsible for the layout of the city. During this period he sold his land, called Arcadia, to Stephanus Jacobus Meintjies (1819-1887), after whom the hill is named.
