The Old Biscuit Mill

This guide to The Old Biscuit Mill in Cape Town's Woodstock traces the fifty-nine years these brick walls stood dark, from the day John Pyott's biscuit ovens went cold in 1946 to the day artists moved into the abandoned shell, drawn by cheap floor space in a neighbourhood written off as too far gone. It follows architect Kristof Basson's 2005 restoration, deliberately mixing new steel and glass against the old brick, and the market two entrepreneurs opened here the following year. Look up as you walk through: the bold murals on the walls were painted by street artists invited in on purpose.