There is something wonderfully reassuring about an institution that simply refuses to disappear.
In a world where buildings are demolished, businesses come and go and traditions are often discarded in the name of progress, the Port Elizabeth St George’s Club is preparing to celebrate something increasingly rare: 160 years of existence.
The milestone is worth saluting far beyond the walls of its historic Bird Street home.
Because the story of the club is not really about an old building, old photographs or Victorian gentlemen in waistcoats and cravats.
It is about continuity. It is about a city retaining a tangible connection with the people, places and traditions that helped shape it.
The fact that the club has survived for 160 years is remarkable. But perhaps even more remarkable is that it has survived by changing.
That is the lesson worth taking from this anniversary.
When the club first opened its doors in 1866, society looked very different.
It was a male-only institution, formal dress was expected and social life revolved around dances, dinners and gatherings of a very different kind.
Thankfully, much has changed.
Women are now very much part of the club's life, the dress code is simply "appropriate", and the doors have been opened far more widely to the public.
It hosts wine, beer and whisky tastings, music evenings, bingo, trivia and other events.
People can come together for a meal or simply enjoy the character of a place that has witnessed generations of Port Elizabeth — now Gqeberha — history.
That adaptability is precisely why the club deserves to be celebrated.
There is sometimes a tendency to regard heritage as something that must be preserved behind glass.
Old buildings become museums. Historic institutions become increasingly irrelevant.
Traditions become something we talk about rather than something we actually experience.
The St George's Club appears to have taken a different approach.
It has retained the character of the institution while accepting that the world around it has changed. That is smart.
Heritage only truly matters when people can engage with it.
After 160 years, the club has apparently learnt an important survival skill: when the lights go out, find a way to keep the party going.
Perhaps that is why this anniversary feels so much bigger than a birthday celebration.
Cities need places where people can gather simply for the pleasure of being together.
They need spaces that are not shopping centres, chain restaurants or anonymous modern venues. They need places with stories.
The St George's Club has plenty of them.
Imagine how many conversations have taken place within its walls and how many friendships began there.
How many celebrations were held, businesses discussed, romances kindled, jokes shared and milestones marked.
Its history stretches across wars, political upheaval, economic crises, technological revolutions and enormous social change.
It has watched the city around it transform.
Yet it is still there.