Old OK Bazaar Building Orange Grove

The original OK Bazaar opened in 1956 along the eastern side of Louis Botha Avenue on the corner of Tenth and Louis Botha Avenues. The design included one of the first folded steel structure roofs and it was constructed by Arup, a well-established engineer’s consultancy firm which operated since 1946 in Johannesburg. The responsible architect was James Watson. The OK Bazaars were a brainchild of Michael Miller and Sam Cohen who opened the first outlet in 1927. Alterations over the years have reduced the architectural significance of the building although the distinctive roof structure is still intact.