NOTABLE LANDMARKS IN LAGOS NIGERIA

THE NATIONAL THEATRE

The National Theatre is located at Iganmu, It covers 23,000 sq. metres of land and stands 30 metres high. The National Arts Theatre was built during the military regime of Chief Olusegun Aremu Obasanjo. Its exterior is shaped like a military hat. It has a 5,000-seater Main Hall with a collapsible stage, and two capacity cinema halls, all of which are equipped with facilities for simultaneous translation of 8 languages; among others.  The theatre was built for the preservation, presentation and promotion of arts and culture in Nigeria. It is modelled on the Palace of Culture and Sports at Varna in Bulgaria. Its construction started in 1973 by Techno, a Bulgarian firm. Gen. Olusegun Obasanjo, then Nigerian Military Head of State, commissioned the complex on 30 September 1976. It was the main venue for the Second World Black and African Festival of Arts and Culture (FESTAC 77) held in Lagos and Kaduna, Nigeria, in February 1977.

It remains an architectural masterpiece and a cultural landmark.

THE CIVIC CENTRE

The Civic Centre is located on Ozumba Mbadiwe Avenue in Victoria Island Lagos, The Event Centre is one of the most beautiful and fascinating architectural structures in Lagos. It is built on prime property facing the waterfront with an ambience ideal for exclusive alfresco meetings and grand social events seating 600 banquet or 1000 conference guests.

LAGOS CITY HALL

The City Hall Lagos is a historical monument of enviable architectural grandeur, a symbol of the rich culture of the Lagos Island people, and the latest address for exclusive events, entertainment and tourism. Commissioned in 1968 as the premier seat of local government administration in Lagos and Nigeria, City Hall was renovated to its present splendor by the Lagos State Government under the able leadership of Governor Babatunde Fashola SAN in 2009.

The newly renovated City Hall offers state of the art event facilities covering information communication technology, safety regulations, alternative power supply, air conditioning, conveniences/sewage system and ample parking space. The City Hall consists of a banquet hall, 5 offices space, 1 banking hall, council chamber with offices all completed with leading – edge construction finishing.

WATER HOUSE

This house, also known as Da Rocha House, was built in 1875 for Jao Esan Da Rocha, a returnee from Brazil and patriarch of the famous Da Rocha family of Lagos. It is a replica of the Da Rocha family house in Bahia, Salvador, Brazil.

Returnees from Brazil who started arriving in Lagos in the mid-19th century had a great impact on the social life of Lagos, a major part of which was the distinct characteristics of their buildings in Bamgbose Street and Campos Square. It was therefore no accident that at a time when drinking water was a rarity in Lagos, Water House had a unique water supply system, which served the owners/residents as well as its immediate community.

Water House has been declared a National Monument.

LIGHTHOUSE, TARKWA BAY

Burghan, a United Kingdom-based engineering firm, built the Lighthouse in 1890. It is conical in shape and was built with burnt bricks to provide guidance for sailing vessels in and out of Lagos.

The Lighthouse, which still retains its original form, was initially gas-powered. However, on 18 December 1990, the revolving beacon light was changed to a solar powered one. The solar lighting system was manufactured by Pharos Marine Ltd of the United Kingdom.

JAEKEL HOUSE

Built in 1898 and set on a large expanse of landscaped land,, ‘Jaekel House’ was named after the late Francis Jaekel OBE, a former superintendent of the Corporation, who retired in the seventies after almost thirty years of service for the Corporation. Jaekel House was formally the residence of the General Manager and was later converted to a senior staff rest house. Standing for over 100 years old, Jaekel House is an example of classic colonial architecture, that has been painstakingly restored by Professor John Godwin in 2010 to be the joint headquarters for Legacy and the Railway Museum. It showcases photographic archive dating from 1940s through to 1970s of personalities, places and historical events in pre and post independent Nigeria.

TAFAWA BALEWA SQUARE

Tafawa Balewa Square was designed in the 1950s by Cappa & D’Alberto Ltd to occupy the site of the former Racecourse. It was built between 1960 and the end of the Nigerian Civil War in 1970. It was the venue of the symbolic lowering of the Union Jack and the hoisting of the Nigerian flag on 1 October 1960. It was later named after the first Prime Minister of Nigeria. The Tower of Unity was added in 1970 while the Remembrance Arcade, the ceremonial edifice, was incorporated in 1975 to a design by Messrs Frydrew Atkinson. 

SAINT ANNA BUILDING

The building, located on 9 Broad Street, Lagos, was designed by architects in the colonial civil service and built by the Public Works Department in 1925. It was built with burnt bricks and has remained a court building since completion.

It was formerly the property of the Federal Judiciary, but passed to the ownership of the Lagos State Judiciary in 1968 with the separation of Lagos to form a state of its own. It still retains both its original function and design.

TAIWO OLOWO'S CENOTAPH

This monument, situated on Broad Street, Lagos, was built in 1905 in honour of Chief Daniel Conrad Taiwo (alias Taiwo Olowo).

The tomb is characteristic of Muslim funerary monuments. It has a traceried canopy and pinnacles with floral mortises and a bronze plaque.

Chief Conrad Taiwo was of Oyo ancestry and came to prominence in 19th century Lagos by a combination of commercial success and political astuteness. He died in 1901. The monument is believed to be the work of Senhor Joas Baptista da Costa.

THREE WHITE CAP CHIEFS

The institution of chieftaincy in Lagos dates back to the very beginning of the settlement of the Island. The descendants of Ogunfunminire and Olofin opened up the new territory and collectively became a new class of chiefs known as the IDEJO, led by Olumegbon.

The statue represents three of these different grades of chiefs, namely the ldejo (landed gentry), the Akarigbere (kingmakers) and the Abagbon (military chiefs). The artwork by renowned sculptor, Dr Sodeinde, is located at the entry to Lagos at Ojota, where there used to be a tollgate. Colonel Raji Rasaki, the then Military Governor of Lagos State, commissioned the statue on 30 November 1991.

AFRICAN CHURCH CATHEDRAL (BETHEL)

The Cathedral, situated in Broad Street, Lagos, was designed by Bagan Benjamin and is on the model of St Paul’s Cathedral, London. It was built by Diya Olu, a local builder of repute, who was killed in a fall from the top of the building in 1918.

It was built with burnt bricks on a strong foundation, reinforced with iron beams imported from London. It is of Gothic architectural design and was dedicated in 1928.The church still retains its original form.

CHRIST CHURCH CATHEDRAL

Located at the CMS Bus Stop at the Marina/Odunlami Street junction, Christ Church Cathedral was designed in 1925 by Bagan Benjamin, an architect of Brazilian and Sierra Leonean descent. Its foundation stone was laid on 21 April 1925 by His Royal Highness the Prince of Wales, later Edward VIII, and its building was carried out in phases over a period of 21 years.  

The first section was dedicated on 15 June 1928, while the building of the second section started on 27 April 1934 and was dedicated on the 18 October 1935. The construction of the third section began on 5 May 1943 and consecrated on 5 May 1946.

HOLY TRINITY CHURCH

The present church building of the Holy Trinity (Anglican) Church, Ebute-Ero, is the fourth structure to be put up on the site. The first structure was the bamboo wall thatch roof church building erected in January 1852, under the supervision of James White, a Black catechist, later ordained as a priest, who christened it the ‘Cradle of Christianity’ on Lagos Island.

In 1861, this first structure was replaced by a solid mud wall building, but got completely destroyed by the ‘Iga Alaga Great Fire’, which swept through Isale-Eko on 30 Januany 1877. So a third structure built of burnt bricks was put up to replace it. This was dedicated on 31 July, 1878.
The present structure, modelled on a church in Germany, is the fourth church building on that site. The project was started on 15 April 1912, and the new building was dedicated and consecrated for use on 27 July, 1929.

HERITAGE PLACE

Heritage Place is a world-class development situated in Lagos’s commercial and retail area, and just a few minutes walk from the most important venues in the city. This ultra-modern, eco-friendly building is Nigeria’s most advanced development, employing the latest building principles and state-of-the-art finishes.

Heritage Place is set to become one of the Lagos’ most recognisable and accessible buildings. Overlooking the Eko Atlantic City and Ocean, it is just a 10-minute drive to the City Centre and only 45 minutes away from the Airport.

(SOURCES:  www.lagosat50.org.ng, www.nigeriarealestatehub.com)