African Heritage House; The Most Photographed House in Africa Is Up for Sale
The house was set to be demolished to pave way for the Standard Gauge Railway but was saved by a gazette notice declaring it a National Monument.
Skeeter Imisa
African Heritage House (AHH) is up for sale on leasehold tenure. The property was listed by Frank Knight, a real estate consultancy in Kenya. AHH is a fully furnished house sitting on a 7.71acre piece of land in Athi River.
AHH sale Photo: screengrab. Source: Twitter
It is considered the most photographed house in Africa and was the first house in Africa to be featured in the US Architectural Digest in 1996. The house also featured in the cover of Marie Claire.
The owner, Alan Donovan says that he is too old and needs someone to take care of the house and the items in it. The prospective buyer should be someone who will be able to maintain it as a National Monument including the architectural design.
Alan came to Africa more than 50 years ago and together with Joseph Murumbi, Kenya’s first vice president co-founded the African Heritage Gallery.
It took Donovan 4 years to complete building the house after a long time of travel and research on the architectural designs. The house has four floors with 5 bedrooms, 5 bathrooms, a terraced garden on the roof, swimming pool, double garage, storeroom, courtyard and verandah.
Interior of AHH (photo courtesy)
African Heritage House overlooks the Nairobi National Park. The two railway lines can also be seen from this house; the old narrow colonial railway and the Chinese Standard Gauge Railway. In 2014, the house was set to be demolished to pave way for the Standard Gauge Railway but was saved by a gazette notice on 23rd January declaring it a National Monument.
