Byeways

12 by Baker and Fleming for Robert Alfred Lehfeldt, Professor of Natural Philosophy and Physics at the South African School of Mines. Lehfeldt came to Johannesburg in 1906 to take up the appointment and remained at that institution as Professor of Economics, Economic History and Statistics when it became the University of the Witwatersrand.

Ray Street Sophiatown

Christ The King Plaque

So little money was available for its construction in 1933 that Architect F.L.H. Fleming called it "a holy bam". The bell tower was added in 1936 and has been a landmark ever since. In 1940 Father Trevor Huddleston, an outspoken opponent of apartheid, was appointed Rector, and the Church became an icon of the liberation struggle. In 1955, during the forced removals Huddleston was recalled to England. Once the congregation left the area, the Church was deconsecrated and sold. The site was reconsecrated as an Anglican Church in 1997. Bishop Huddleston's ashes are interred here at his request.

Dorchester Mansions

This block of flats with shops on the ground floor was designed in 1931 by J.C. Cook & Cowen. The elaborate decoration on the facade, combined with the name of the fashionably grand hotel being built at the same time in London, were used to attract wealthy tenants. The decorative plasterwork resembles the striking linear forms used in jewellery of the period, culminating in the diadem which crowns the central bay.  

Dr A.B. Xuma House

This is one of only two houses to escape the destruction of Sophiatown by the apartheid government in the late 1950s. It was built in 1935 for Dr Alfred Bitini Xuma, a highly qualified medical practitioner, and named Empilweni. He lived here until 1959 together with his wife Madie Beatrice Hall, an African American social worker who served as President of the ANC Womens' League from 1943 to 1949. Elected President General of the ANC in 1940, Dr Xuma introduced a new constitution which opened membership to people of all races and gave women equal rights in the organisation.

Fairview Fire Tower

Johannesburg's first fire station was completed on this site in 1906.The thirty-five metre tower was used as a lookout for spotting fires before the advent of telecommunications and also for drying out fire hoses which were hung in the tower. When the station was re-built in the early 1980s, only the watchtower was kept. It is Johannesburg's only remaining fire tower and the highest of a group of towers in the area.

Fort

On 31 May 1900 the South Australian Mounted Rifles took the surrender of The Fort. The first to enter were Sgt-Maj. J.R. Read and Cpl. H.H "Breaker" Morant. Thereafter it was garrisoned by the Cheshire Regiment which retained the captured Z.A.R. flag, the "Vierkleur", amongst its trophies.

11 Albermarie Street, Troyeville

Gandhi Family House

Indian leader Mohandas Gandhi lived here from 1904 to 1906 together with his wife Kasturba and sons Manilal, Ramdas and Devdas. They shared the house with Henry Polak, Gandhi's friend and colleague in his law office. In 1905 they were joined by Polak's wife Millie, who describes the house in her book on Gandhi:

"The house was situated in a fairly good middle-class neighbourhood, on the outskirts of town. It was a double-storeyed, detached, eight-roomed building of the modern villa type, surrounded by a garden, and having in front the open spaces of the koppies.The upstairs verandah was roomy enough to sleep on it, and indeed in warm weather it was often so used".

Gerhard Moerdijk 1890-1958

Moerdijk studied architecture in Europe before opening a practice in Johannesburg in 1918. Married the same year, he designed this house and lived here from 1919 until he moved to Pretoria in 1924. Using local materials where possible, the design incorporates different gables and many types of food finishes in the spirit of the Arts and Crafts tradition. He became highly influential as a leading Afrikaans architect, committed to developing a style of architecture appropriate and peculiar to South Africa. He designed numerous important buildings including The Johannesburg Station (which Gordon Leith), the Voortrekker Monument, Libertas and more than eighty Dutch Reformed Churches throughout South Africa.

Jeppe Street Power Station

This was the last and largest of three steam driven power stations built in Newtown to supply electricity to Johannesburg. Constructed between 1927 and 1934, it considered originally of a shorter Turbine Hall and a single "North Boiler House". The station could not keep up with the city's demand for electricity, and so, in 1934, the "South Boiler House" was built, and the Turbine Hall extended. However, demand still outstripped supply. In 1942, Orlando Power Station began to take over the supply of electricity to Johannesburg.

JOHANNESBURG CBD

CHARLES AND ISABELLE LIPP

In 1898 Charles Lipp was appointed Manager of the Johannesburg branch of the African Banking Corporation, whose offices were on this corner. When war broke out in 1899 between Britain and the Z.A.R. Charles and his wife, Isabelle, both British subjects, required permits to remain in Johannesburg. They sent their children away and moved into the top floor of the Bank.

Charles worked by day, but had to patrol at night with the Rus-en-Orde Committee. Isabelle kept a detailed diary of events up to the handing-over of Johannesburg to British forces on 31 May 1900 on Government Square, three blocks to the east.  

Kliptown Museum

Crowds watched the adoption of the Freedom Charter from the roof of Jada's Hardware, now converted to a museum

Langlaagte Stamp Battery

Stamp mills were used to crush gold bearing rock in the early days of mining. This 10-stamp battery went into operation at the Robinson Mine in Langlaagte in 1886, making it one of the earliest stamp mills on the Witwatersrand. In 1912 mine owner Sir Joseph Robinson ordered officials to bury the stamp mill in a slimes dump. Following Sir Joseph’s death in 1929, the stamp was salvaged after a long search. It was refurbished and exhibited at the 1937 Empire Exhibition after which it was donated to the City Council. It was erected in George Harrison Park where it remained until 2003 when it was damaged in a fire. In 2004 the stamp was reconstructed and moved to the Main Street Mining Mall. 

Mandela's Place

Madiba's first home in Johannesburg, when he came in 1941 to work as a law clerk.

Mary Fitzgerald Square

The Square was originally a wagon site on which many strikers' meetings were held. It was named after the activist Mary Fitzgerald in 1939. A militant defender of womens' rights, she became known as Pickhandle Mary and was a leading figure in the strikes of 1911 to 1914. She became organiser of the Industrial Womens' League, President of the international branch of the Workers of the World and, in the early 1920's, Deputy Mayor of Johannesburg. Throughout the 20th Century, the Square continued to be a popular meeting place for political, community, cultural and worker organisations. The tradition continues to this day.

Melville Koppies Cave

This cave is a fissure formed between 2,9 billion-year-old quartzite rocks of what is now the Melville Koppies Ridge. For hundreds of years the cave provided a shelter for the people living around and moving across this area.

The site was excavated in 1971. An analysis of the archaeological remains found in the cave suggests that, as early as 1 500 A.D., farming communities made use of all the resources the area had to offer. When supplies dwindled they supplemented their diet with wild plants and hunted wild animals.

Miner's Monument

The monument to the mining industry by sculptor David McGregor pays tribute to Johannesburg’s mining origins.  The group of gold miners represents a typical underground team of 1935.  They face west towards Langlaagte where the Main Reef was discovered in 1886.  The artwork symbolizes the contribution of the mining industry to the wealth and prosperity of South Africa.  It was also intended as a peoples’ monument and celebrates the working people who built the city.  The Transvaal and Orange Free State Chamber of Mines presented the sculpture to the City of Johannesburg in 1964. 

S.A. PERM

Designed in 1937 by Stucke, Harrison & Smail for the South African Permanent Mutual Building Society, the large span structure necessitated a heavy perforated beam above the grand space of the banking hall.  This carried the massive weight of the eleven levels above.  The curvilinear corners, emphasised by the horizontal bands of green and pink terrazzo, are reminiscent of the German architect, Mendelsohn.  It was the first building in the city centre to have underground parking.  The original double volume brass and glass entrance screen on the corner and doorway gave a sense of lightness and welcome to clients, without detracting from the gravitas conveyed by the polished black granite. 

Rosebank Telephone Exchange

In 1924 Rosebank was identified as a test site for a new telephone exchange that was established here. The small building was substantially enlarged in the 1930’s when the exchange was extended to cover the north and western areas of the City. Later it housed the Saxonwold Post Office. The building was unoccupied between 1995 and 2005 and was then converted into a boutique hotel, retaining the original facade, which is reminiscent of the 18th Century Cape Townhouse architecture.

Randjeslaagte Beacon

When Johannesburg was proclaimed in 1886 on the triangular site Randjeslaagte the area of the town was nine square km.  Randjeslaagte was a piece of ‘uitvalgrond’ –  land left over from the farms surveyed around it, which was not considered suitable for farming.   The beacon marks the apex of the triangle with its base running along Commissioner Street, from End Street in the East to Ntembi Pilisio Street in the West.  This nine square km. remained the municipal area of Johannesburg until 1901.  The original surveyor’s beacon was a white pole fixed in a cairn of rock and concrete. It was declared a national monument in 1965 and the cairn smoothed with cement.

S.A. Mutual Buildings

This fine office block was designed in 1935 by Stucke, Harrison & Smail for the South African Mutual Life Assurance Society (now Old Mutual) and served as its Johannesburg headquarters for over fifty years.  The fine bronze lamps, and the brass fittings for doors and lifts were made in Johannesburg by Frederick Sage and Co. and adorned the impressive banking hall on the ground floor.  They are worthy echoes of the Rockefeller Centre in New York.  A special Act of Parliament exempted the Mutual Assurance from taxation levied on banks and building societies.   

Stanhope Mansions

Designed in 1934 by J.C. Cook & Cowen .this block of relatively modest flats and uses stylised patterns depicting plants, sunburst designs, rondels and radials in bas relief to embellish what would otherwise be a rather plain exterior.

St Alban's Mission Church

Founded in 1898 to serve the local Coloured Anglican community, a magnificent church designed by F.L.H. Fleming replaced the old wood and iron building in 1928. The forced removal of the congregation in the 1960s threatened the survival of the church. But in 1960 the offices of the diocese were located here under Bishop Leslie Stradling, who was then followed by Bishops Timothy Bavin, Desmond Tutu and Duncan Buchanan. St Alban's served as the Diocesan offices until 1987. It remains a potent reminder of the forced removal of the Coloured people from Ferreirasdorp and Marshalltown.

St Joseph's Childrens Home

Buildings on this property are among the few from old Sophiatown which escaped destruction during the forced removals of 1955-1960. St Joseph's Home for Coloured Children was built as a memorial to "Coloured" men who lost their lives in the First  World War. The Home opened its doors in 1923. It was run by the Anglican Nuns, the Order of St. Margaret, East Grinstead who remained in charge until 1978 when they left South Africa in protest against apartheid. The Main Block, Boys' House and Priests' House were designed by the diocesan architect F.L.H. Fleming. The Church successfully opposed removal of the Home because the property was on farm land and not part of a proclaimed township.

Sandton: Esterhuysen Monument

The graves of Voortrekkers Jan Christoffel and Maria Magdalena Esterhuysen and their descendants are to be found here.Jan and Maria settled on their farm Zandfontein in 1836 and were the first white family to settle in this area. Jan's mother, Judith, was the sister of Voortrekker leader Andries Pretorius. Two of Jan's brothers were killed with Piet Retief when they accompanied him on his historic visit to Dingane in 1838.

UNION CASTLE BUILDINGS

This was designed in 1938 by J.A. Moffatt & T.N. Duncan as the Johannesburg office of the Union Castle Mail Steamship Company Limited, founded in    by Donald Currie whose name is associated with competitions in cricket and rugby.  Until 197  the Union Castle line had regular passenger and freight services between South Africa and England which also carried the mail

Begbie's Foundry

At 12 October 1899 teh Boers Commandeered Begbie's Foundry for armaments production. On 24 April 1900 a massive explosion in the munitions store destroyed part of the foundry and houses nearby. Sabotage was suspected. Full production was resumed before the British occupation five weeks later.

Braamfontein Station

On 25 January 1900 an estimated 400 black miners who had walked from Kimberely to Klerksdorp arrived here by train seeking work. They were told by the Z.A.R. Police to drop their kieries. When they refused the ZARPs opened fire, killing three. The rest were detained at gunpoint and were later forced to work on the mines.

British Occupation

Near this point on Government Square, in front of the Court House, on 31 May 1900 Field Marshal Roberts accepted the surrender of Johannesburg from the S.A.R. Commandant, Dr F.E.T. Krause. The Boers had been allowed 24 hours to evacuate the town provided the left the mines intact.

Epic March

On 6 October 1899, 7000 Zulu workers, mainly men, left this site (the Showgrounds) where they had gathered the night before, to walk to their homes in Zululand and Natal.

Pass Office

The Central Pass Office was an infamous checkpoint of the influx control system under apartheid. The "Dompas" which controlled the movement of African people was issued here. Denied a place in the city, many were ordered to leave Johannesburg. This building opened in  1944 as the Non-European Affairs Department and was greatly enlarged in the 1960s. Converted into a womens' hostel in 1994, it was re-named the Usindiso Womens' Shelter.

The Fort

On 31 May 1900 the South Australian Mounted Rifles took the surrender of The Fort. The first to enter were Sgt-May. J.R. Read and Cpl. H.H. "Breaker" Morant. Thereafter it was garrisoned by the Cheshire Regiment which retained the captured South Africa Republic (Z.A.R.) flag, the "Vierkleur", amongst its trophies.

The Fort

Commissioned November 1896.

The Jameson Raid led the South African Republic (Z.A.R.) Executive to instruct Cmdt. A.F. Schiel to construct a fort around part of the existing gaol. Designed to control the town, railways and mines, the fort had two bastions for long-range guns linked by earth rampage. Convict labour excavated and loaded rock and soil from the northern slopes.

DORCHESTER MANSIONS

This block of flats with shops on the ground floor was designed in 1931 by J.C. Cook & Cowen. The elaborate decoration on the facade, combined with the name of the fashionably grand hotel being built at the same time in London, were used to attract wealthy tenants. The decorative plasterwork resembles the striking linear forms used in jewellery of the period, culminating in the diadem which crowns the central bay.  

GALLO AFRICA

In 1932 Eric Gallo bought this property for the company he had started in 1926 which sold records, musical instruments and sheet music. It expanded rapidly and, in 1936, architects Harrison, Tomkin and Richardson added three storeys and a recording studio as well as remodelling the facade. In 1949 Gallo Africa (Pty) Ltd, commissioned Stark, Harrison & Small to create more space and a distinctive new look. It proved a fine example of Art Deco Revival. The record mills are historic markets of the first place where many famous South African recording artists began their careers.

HIS MAJESTY'S

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S.A. PERM

Designed in 1937 by Stucke, Harrison & Smail for the South African Permanent Mutual Building Society, the large span structure necessitated a heavy perforated beam above the grand space of the banking hall.  This carried the massive weight of the eleven levels above.  The curvilinear corners, emphasised by the horizontal bands of green and pink terrazzo, are reminiscent of the German architect, Mendelsohn.  It was the first building in the city centre to have underground parking.  The original double volume brass and glass entrance screen on the corner and doorway gave a sense of lightness and welcome to clients, without detracting from the gravitas conveyed by the polished black granite. 

S.A. MUTUAL BUILDINGS

This fine office block was designed in 1935 by Stucke, Harrison & Smail for the South African Mutual Life Assurance Society (now Old Mutual) and served as its Johannesburg headquarters for over fifty years.  The fine bronze lamps, and the brass fittings for doors and lifts were made in Johannesburg by Frederick Sage and Co. and adorned the impressive banking hall on the ground floor.  They are worthy echoes of the Rockefeller Centre in New York.  A special Act of Parliament exempted the Mutual Assurance from taxation levied on banks and building societies.   

SILVER PINES

Swiss architect, Theophile Schaerer, designed this residence in 1936 for Bernard Kaumhelmer, a Rand pioneer. His daughter Ellen Hellman, the first anthropologist to study urban black communities and the first South African woman to be awarded a Ph.D., lived here. She was chairperson of the SA Institute of Race Relations and a trustee for the Defence and Aid Fund during the Treason Trials. Schaerer used Art Deco elements and contemporary materials such as raw plaster, reinforced-concrete and steel. He created a building which is prestigious and respectful of architectural tradition, with a sense of eduring stability.

STANHOPE MANSIONS

Designed in 1934 by J.C. Cook & Cowen .this block of relatively modest flats and uses stylised patterns depicting plants, sunburst designs, rondels and radials in bas relief to embellish what would otherwise be a rather plain exterior.

UNION CASTLE BUILDINGS

This was designed in 1938 by J.A. Moffatt & T.N. Duncan as the Johannesburg office of the Union Castle Mail Steamship Company Limited, founded in    by Donald Currie whose name is associated with competitions in cricket and rugby.  Until 197  the Union Castle line had regular passenger and freight services between South Africa and England which also carried the mail

NATIONAL UNION OF MINEWORKERS
Formerly HUDACO HOUSE

Built in 1934 for Hubert Davies and Company which imported, manufactured and installed engineering equipment and machinery for industry and the mines throughout Southern Africa.  Founded in 1894 by J Hubert Davies a consulting engineer from Scotland who had come to the Rand in1889, the company’s first big projects were the electrification of various mines.  The strong vertical lines of the building build up to the dramatically sculpted corner tower with the simple straight lines of the beamed entrance to an Egyptian temple.  Perhaps appropriately this structure holds the lift motor rooms, the machinery which empowers workers to rise to the top.

THE CAPERS (formerly DAVAAR)

Designed in 1918 for Mr and Mrs T.J. Welch by Cook and Ralston, architects of the original Pretoria Town Hall, this gracious home was acquired in 1924 by Bridget and Orlando Leake. A staunch Wesleyan and a Rand Pioneer, Mr Leake served as a councillor on the Johannesburg Council for twenty-seven years without remuneration, and as Mayor from 1925 to 1926. Orlando Township in Soweto was named after him in recognition of his concern for disadvantaged communities.

CRANBROOK

In 1911 Waterson and Veale designed this house for F.M. Barry, who sold it in 1916 to Dr F.S. Lister, a doctor seconded from the gold mines to the South African Institute for Medical Research. In 1918 he identified the pneumococcus responsible for the deaths of thousands of mine workers annually, and developed an effective vaccine against it. This breakthrough in health medicine was rewarded with a knighthood in 1920, and it was as Sir Frederick Spencer Lister that in 1926 he was appointed as Director of the Institute.