Photo Essay: Johannesburg 26th June 2005

Johannesburg is a complex city. It is a city which straddles the perfection of Sydney with the mishmash of Lagos. People either love her or hate her. She is like a drama queen - rushing between extremes of adoration and disgust, tension and fun and hope and fear. The following photos are of the inner city, and hopefully will convey to you how the inner city of Joburg is entwined in a battle between these two extremes. I hope you enjoy the tour...

(if these photos take an age to load, you can find them here as well: http://www.chief.co.za/tour_joburg.htm)

YEOVILLE: Once the Bohemian capital of Johannesburg, it is now a melting pot of cultures from all over Africa. And whilst multicuturalism is a good thing, in the case of Yeoville, it has created a dump. The above photo is an example of a better looking building in Yeoville, as well as an indication of how Yeoville used to be.


HILLBROW: We now head into Hillbrow. Hillbrow, as most people know, used to be THE place in Johannesburg. Today, this is unfortunately not the case. Nevertheless, it still thrives with people, but also with litter, grime, dirt, drugs, prostitution and crime. Hillbrow is now easily the worst suburb in South Africa.


HILLBROW: Not a very clear shot, but an indication of the decay in Hillbrow. Hillbrow residents should be ashamed.




FIRST NATIONAL BANK COMPLEX, CITY CENTRE: We now head into the city. The city presents some parts, which are clean, and others which still show massive urban decay. The FNB Headquarters have been well kept by the bank, but the surrounding areas are not that great.


KERK STREET PARADE: For instance, across the road from the FNB Headquarters we have this parade, which was created in the early 90s by the city to create a more people-friendly area. People, however, don't seem to appreciate what they have, as is evidenced by the litter in this shot. When I see shots like this, I am ashamed to be a Joburger.


TEN SIXTY-SIX: The building known as 1066. Pretty, aint it?


KERK STREET: Another photo of this pedestrianised mall. On any given day, it fills up with hawkers selling everything and anything.


THE STUTTAFORDS BUILDING: With the exodus of wealth from Johannesburg, the city found itself in a flurry of urban sprawls and huge shopping malls. As a result, many of the department stores left the city. One of these was Stuttafords, an exclusive department store which now finds itself in the glitzy shopping malls of the suburbs. I would one day LOVE to see this store restored to its former glory, and I believe that in time, it will be.


MR PRICE DEPARTMENT STORE: This hope is manifested in the recent opening of the Mr Price Department Store in Central Joburg. Normally confined to the shopping malls, Mr. Price sells cheap clothes. Opening this store in the city is a milestone as it represents new found hope in the city


11 DIAGONAL STREET: Possibly the most well-liked building in Joburg is 11 Diagonal Street. Built in 1984, this glass building is built in the shape of a diamond, to represent the wealth that Joburg was built on.


CORNER HOUSE LOFTS: One of my favourite buildings in Johannesburg. This building used to house First National Bank - today, it has been converted into luxury apartments and is currently the venue of South Africa's version of The Apprentice, hosted by our top businessman, Tokyo Sexwale.


ART DECO: An example of the many types of architecture in Johannesburg, and how the city has gone through numerous boom times.





MAIN STREET: We now head into the South Western Improvement District, which, largely through the efforts of big business, has transformed itself into a viable, clean and safe city centre. Main Street has just been refurbished, and the above four photos are examples of this refurbishment.



GANDHI SQUARE: This square used to be known as Van Der Bijl, but was renamed about two years ago along with a statue of Gandhi, who spent his early years in South Africa. The square is the central bus terminus, and is relatively clean and crime-free.


OLD AND NEW: I love this shot of the mosque reflected in the glass building. Shows one how multicultural Johannesburg is


REFURBISHED OFFICES: Some refurbished offices in Newtown, the cultural precinct of Johannesburg.


CENTRAL PLACE: The first phase of a massive project in Newtown. This small office block houses the Gauteng Tourism Agency - it is the beginning of a large project, which will eventually encompass new apartments and even more offices.


BRICKFIELDS, NEWTOWN: A new development instigated by the Johannesburg Development Agency. Brickfields is an apartment complex with apartments ranging from low-wealth to high-wealth. It's good news and a great step forward BUT....


ACROSS THE ROAD... You get this just to remind one that one is in a developing country with a huge amount of poverty to overcome.


BRICKFIELDS, NEWTOWN: And we end off with another shot of Brickfields. I wonder why they called it Brickfields....

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I hope you enjoyed your tour of Johannesburg. I'd also like to know what you think of Joburg. Thanks. >