Underwater Cable Station

Benguela, Benguela, Angola

Equipment and Infrastructures

Dating from 1889, the structure was aimed at telegraph cable services between Cape Town, Moçâmedes (Namibe), Benguela, and Luanda. It was also locally known as the “House of the Americans”. The metal structure of two-storeys, resting on masonry pillars, has adequate ventilation in order to compensate for the extreme temperature swings. After being used for years as a German school it was abandoned in the post-independence era. It was restored in 2001 in order to serve as the University Centre of Benguela. It remains nowadays as an exceptional example of colonial architecture.

• Aida Freudenthal