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Hospital Hill and History of Hillbrow Pt.1 are the other two parts of the research.
This quaint little fire Station, completed in 1912, was originally the Northern Districts Fire Station Hillbrow is still operational and known as Berea Fire Station. It’s located at the top end of Banket Street near Louis Botha Avenue and the Raandjeslaagte beacon.
Fire station plans from 1910
The fire station in 1936 (Source: JHF)
From the Wikipedia page c/o Bobby Shabangu: Designed by G. S. Burt Andrews, the foundation stone was laid on 15 October 1910 by Mrs D.W.Sims…who was the sister of Harry Graumann who was the mayor at that time, and the first Jewish mayor of Johannesburg. The first fire engines were horse-drawn and were later motorised. After World War 1, petrol-driven engines were used. The fireman’s quarters were rebuilt around 1960. The dormer windows and garages were later additions.
Fireman’s quarters on Banket Street 2016 (Source: Marc Latilla)
The fire station in 2011 (Source: Marc Latilla)
Across the road from the fire station in Banket street is Ridgeview. It was designed by Stucke & Harrison in 1931 and is a 1920s post-Edwardian classicism inspired apartment block before the Art Deco movement swept in and altered Johannesburg’s flatland.
Ridgeview shortly after completion (Source: Johannesburg Style)
Also of interest and connected to Ridgeview is the architect Theo Schaerer. He designed the Traansvaalsche Bank on the corner of Fox & Sauer Street in 1905, the German church on Twist street and did the alteration plans for the original German school (further up in the post). He appears to have owned two stands on the corners of East Avenue (now Louis Botha Ave), Willie street and Banket street along with a certain G. Muirhead, and lived in one of the houses – Possibly the one bordering Louis Botha Ave. It’s not known when the houses were designed or built, but he designed new stables and a garage in 1913 and did some alteration to the residence in 1914. Ridgeview, built in the 1930s, is now on the one stand and it’s possible from the picture above, that Schaerer’s house (or stable/garage) is what is visible on the other stand on the right. Today a half-circular block of flats is on that stand.
Ridgeview in 2016 with the fireman’s quarters in view (Source: Marc Latilla)
In 1966, for JHBs 80th birthday, the city engineers department straightened the northern end of Banket Street where it met East Avenue (Now Louis Botha Ave). The beacon was also renovated and given a new base. The plaque was unveiled on 4th October 1966.
View of the redesigned section from the late 1960s showing the fire station and Ridgeview (Source: Museum Africa)
Beacon from 1966
Near the corner of East Avenue and Jager Street was Mr McIver’s Stable and Riding School. McIver dressed like Buffalo Bill and had a long moustache that twirled on either side of his face. His pupils would ride along Victoria Avenue in Parktown and down to the Sachsenwald Forest.
Clarendon Circle (named after Earl of Clarendon, Governor-General 1930-37) was an experiment in traffic control. The circle was meant to control traffic at the intersections of Twist Street, Empire Road, Park Lane and East Ave (now known as Louis Botha Ave).
Clarendon Circle from 1938 (Source: Lost Johannesburg)
From the City Engineer’s 1932 report: “Gyratory traffic control is obtained by means of this circle, 100 feet in diameter, with a minimum width of a carriageway at any point of 28 feet 9 inches. A pathway 6 feet wide provided on the outer circumference of the circle is divided from the inner portion, which has been laid out in lawns, palms and shrubs, but a low wrought iron railing set on a brick kerb with tile coping. At night the circle and its surroundings are brilliantly lit, and kerb lights consisting of red arrows indicate direction of traffic”
View of the circle from now closed off Park Lane Road
Ground view of Clarendon Circle looking up Twist Street
With the further increase of traffic and installation of traffic lights throughout the city, it was 25 years later that the intersection was redesigned and modernised by Bernard Carlsson. The circle was causing traffic delays of up to 20 minutes during peak periods and needed 5 pointsmen to direct traffic. It also took up most of the road which compounded the traffic problem.
Clarendon circle before and after the redesign (Source: Watershed Town)
On 6 May 1959 East Avenue’s name was changed to Clarendon Place. Interestingly Clarendon Place and Diagonal Street both line up with the western boundary of the original Raandjeslaagte triangle.
I lived in the three-story art deco building (Brenthurst Place) in the picture above between 1988-1991. Brenthurst Place was designed by P Hill Mitchelson in 1934 and was originally known as Clive Mansions.
Brenthurst Place 2009 (Source: Marc Latilla)
Brenthurst Place entrance doors (Source: Marc Latilla)
The intersection from 2011 taken from the roof of Brenthurst Place showing Majestic Mansions and Gate (Source: Marc Latilla)
Clarendon Place used to be where the Twist Street Tram terminus was and where policemen ‘Smiler Smith’ would stand on a soapbox and salute the motorists. Pamela Solarsh recalls an unsolved crime where the body of a Mr Dexter was found in the tram shelter. It was thought he was the victim of a hit and run accident.
The small tram terminus is located outside the entrance to Circle Court. The terminus building still stands but has been boarded up for many years.
Circle Court was designed by famous Art Deco architects Obel & Obel in 1934 and is still owned by one of their descendants.
Circle Court 2015 showing tram terminus behind palm trees (Source: Marc Latilla)
Circle Court signage 2019 (Source: Marc Latilla)
Circle Court lobby 2019 (Source: Marc Latilla)
Circle Court office 2019 (Source: Marc Latilla)
Majestic Mansions on Clarendon Place was built in the mid-1920s and designed by Cowin, Powers, and Ellis. It was a distinctive four-story block of flats full of character. Each of the sixty flats were slightly different from each other.
Original Majestic Mansions from 1970
It was demolished in the 1970s and replaced with two modern and taller blocks of flats (it can be seen in the picture above of the intersection from 2011). Below is an early drawing by Moross & Graff of the new Majestic Mansions from 1964. Some of the trees on the border dating back to the 1920s still survive.
Article on the Mansion’s demolition from 1971 (Source: Star/Chipkin Archives)
Plans for the new building (Source: Johannesburg Style)
On the corner of Clarendon Place and Caroline street is Christ Church. It was built in 1908 and designed by Gilbert St John Cottrill.
Christ Church Hillbrow in 2014 (Source: Marc Latilla)
Christ Church Hillbrow side view (Source: Marc Latilla)
The other side (Source: Marc Latilla)
History of Hillbrow Pt.1 featured Ingram’s Pharmacy. Another famous pharmacy was Milton’s Pharmacy in Kotze street (who eventually bought out Fred Ingram and many other others as the area declined in the 80s and 90s).
Milton Pharmacy Kotze Street
Below is an excerpt from ‘The story of a pharmacist in Hillbrow: 1955 – 1997’:
“At that time Hillbrow was a vibrant, thriving and exciting cosmopolitan suburb, peopled mainly by Germans, Italians, Greeks and Britons. With trams and afterwards buses frequently passing through its streets, it was easily accessible. Because of its many tall buildings, Hillbrow was regarded as the most built-up area in South Africa. Within its comparatively small limits were parks, hospitals, nursing homes, opticians, dental and medical practices, two tailors, restaurants, continental styled cafés and lounges, interesting stores including bakeries and delicatessens, cinemas, theatres, hotels and night clubs.
Cyril’s Wardrobe was the favourite store for those with money. Milky Lane pioneered fresh fruit juices and milkshakes. Exclusive Books first opened in Hillbrow and was the Saturday night haunt of those in and outside the area who browsed through the books on the shelves while listening to softly playing classical music. The Porterhouse pioneered T-bone steaks and was a great favourite. Lionel Korp the optician, at great cost to himself, fed the pigeons every day and from noon onwards the overhead wires, poles and balconies in Kotze Street were filled with thousands of birds awaiting their lunch. It became one of the sights of Hillbrow. For those who needed to swim in winter, there was the Hillbrow indoor heated pool. Dating couples had the choice of going, among others, to the Ambassador Hotel or the Chelsea Hotel, where discothèques provided music, to the upmarket Summit Club, and to Fontana bakery at Highpoint which provided every kind of food for those still awake in the early hours of the morning.
Sam and his wife, along with other Hillbrovniks, made full use of the many cafés that made Hillbrow so attractive a place to live in. The Golden Ray Café was the first and oldest of them. Later, the Florian, Café Paris, Café Kranzler, Café Wien, Café Zurich and Café Pigalle enticed thousands to sit in their comfortable chairs on upstairs balconies or on their pavements and listen to music while drinking coffee, eating cake and reading newspapers from all over the world.
Nearby was the ‘Jo’burg Gen’ (later to become the Hillbrow Hospital when the Johannesburg Hospital moved to Parktown), and the Florence Nightingale Nursing Home.”
Pharmacists Gluckman & Rubin
I remember both Sam Gluckman and Gerald Rubin from my teenage years in Hillbrow in the late 80s and early 90s as I was often visiting the dispensary collecting scripts for my hypochondriac mother.
Temple Israel Hillbrow still stands on the corner of Claim and Paul Nel Streets. This from their website: “According to The Star on December 28, 1933, the Liberal Jewish movement in South Africa… has purchased a site for the erection of a Liberal Jewish Synagogue in Johannesburg, the first in South Africa. “The site covers three-quarters of an acre, and is situated in Empire Road, corner of Hillside Road, just a few minutes from Clarendon Circle and Twist Street tram terminus.”
Temple Israel Hillbrow (Source: Marc Latilla)
The foundation stone of Temple Israel was laid by the then Mayor of Johannesburg, Councilor Maurice Freeman, on 22 September 1935, and the official opening of the shul took place on 23 August 1936.” It was designed by architects Kallenbach, Kennedy and Furner.
Hillbrow’s alleys have always been seen in a negative light due to them being magnets for criminality. These alleys were originally sanitary lanes and were part of the planning of the suburb when it was still just residential homes. Examples of these sanitary lanes in their original setting can still be found in older suburbs like Brixton and Parktown North. Introduced by Samuel Goldreich who later regretted the error, the alleys were narrow lanes that ran through the blocks at the back of the houses where horse-drawn night soil wagons would collect and empty the household toilet buckets. This was all before waterborne sewerage systems. When Hillbrow and Braamfontein were being redeveloped in the 1940s – 1960s, these lanes remained even as high-rise flats and buildings took the place of the original suburban houses. I recall when living in Hillbrow that garbage trucks could drive through them and many buildings and businesses would have their bins at easy access for the trucks in the alleys. It kept the rubbish away from the pavements and building entrances. Many are now simply blocked off or access-controlled as they are still security risks.
Typical Alley in Hillbrow (Source: Marc Latilla)
Below are pictures of some surviving buildings and flats:
Art Deco flats in Quartz Street (Source: Marc Latilla)
Clarendon Court at the top of Banket Street across from the fire station by Stucke & Harrison 1934 (Source: Marc Latilla)
Goldreich Court by John Russel Boulton 1934 (Source: Marc Latilla)
Ilkley Chambers in Klein Street (Source: Marc Latilla)
Murray Flats Klein Street (Source: Marc Latilla)
Old warehouse on Pietersen Street (Source: Marc Latilla)
Old apartments on Edith Cavell Street (Source: Marc Latilla)
Old Flats in Banket street close to Nugget Hill
Millbro Court on Pretoria Street (the old No.58) (Source: Marc Latilla)
Although I don’t normally focus on anything past 1920, I do feel the need to add some later pictures of Hillbrow. As described earlier, it served as home for many people in its heyday between 1960-1990 and there seems to be a great demand for old and new pictures from this era. I’ve collected a whole lot (below) from various sources including John Stewart’s album on Facebook. Do visit the Facebook group ‘Who partied in Hillbrow between 1975 and 1990?’ for more and other Hillbrow groups. I lived in Hillbrow from 1987 – 1995 and do feel some level of nostalgia.
Hillbrow postcard
Hillbrow in the 1970s (Source: Laurence Hughes)
We frequented places like Café Three sisters, Café Wien, Café Kranzler, Golden Egg, Hillbrow Records, Look & Listen, Exclusive Books, Estoril Books, the underground Flea Market with Cosmi-Comics, Total Chaos, the gaming shop run by Alan Melville and the tattoo shop where I got my first – the Einsturzende Neubauten man with my (still) wife’s initials underneath. There was also the Mini Cine where we watched Pink Floyd’s ‘The Wall’, Clockwork Orange, Unbearable Lightness of Being, various Monty Python films and moshed upfront to ‘The Great Rock ‘n’ Roll Swindle’.
Hillbrow Underground Flea Market poster 1973 (Source: Marc Latilla)
Cafe de Paris Hillbrow
Cafe Zurich Hillbrow part of Nedbank Plaza (orange signage on the second floor)
Exclusive Books in Pretoria Street next to Hillbrow Records. The original store was in Kotze Street
Hillbrow Record Centre Pretoria Street
Patrick (RIP) outside the original Look & Listen on Pretoria Street around 1989 or 1990 (Source: Andrew Wood)
Estoril Books next to the Checkers on Pretoria Street
Inside Estoril Books Hillbrow
Bimbos on the corner of Banket and Kotze Street (Source: Hillbrow)
Cafe Three Sisters with Andrew, Patrick and Ulla corner of Pretoria and Claim street (Source: Andrew Wood)
Anglo American Properties Highpoint development was designed by Monty Sack, Helmut Hentrich & E W N Mallows and built between 1971-1972 taking up the whole block. It comprised 29 storeys, 333 flats, 64 shops, and 81 offices by way of three levels for the shops, offices and the cinema topped off with the apartments. Various business premises were demolished for the new development including builders J. C. Dunbar, a Chinese laundry, Paddy Adiar’s garage, and the original post office.
Highpoint foundations c1971
Kotze side of Highpoint looking west
Highpoint stairs near Fontana
Highpoint (Source: Richard Cook)
Entrance to underground parking at Highpoint 2016 (Source: Marc Latilla)
Highpoint signage where the cinema used to be 2015 (Source: Marc Latilla)
Highpoint 205 (Source: Marc Latilla)
Hillbrow medical centre corner Kotze and Claim streets
I worked as a DJ at Bella Napoli downstairs from 91-93 and my wife and I lived in Kings Langley on Paul Nel street up to about 1995 until we eventually moved out of Hillbrow to Lauriston Court in Orange Grove.
Finally, here are a few views of Pretoria and Kotze street from December 2015. Most of Hillbrow, outside of a few well-known landmarks, is unrecognisable.
Pretoria Street looking east with Harrison Reef Hotel on the left mid picture (Source: Marc Latilla)
Similar angle to the above picture from the early 1970s with Castle Inn on the left and Harrison Reef Hotel further up
Chelsea Hotel from early 2015 (Source: Marc Latilla)
Chelsea Hotel in the 1980s
Corner of Banket and Kotze looking west down Kotze 2015 (Source: Marc Latilla)
Old post office at the base of Hillbrow Tower 2015 (Source: Marc Latilla)
No post about Hillbrow is complete without the Hillbrow Tower. Construction began in June 1968 and went on for six days a week and 24 hours a day until it finally opened in April 1971. It’s the tallest structure in Africa at a height of 269 metres.
Back in April 1973, one could go to the top of Hillbrow Tower (known then as J. G. Strijdom Tower), have a four-course meal and a film for R5 and then get down to DJ John Roland and the energetic all-girl bar staff at Cloud 9.
It also had a revolving restaurant known as Heinrich’s. The restaurant floor revolved one to three times per hour in a counterclockwise direction. Even though it weighed 64 metric tons at full capacity, this smooth movement required only a three horsepower motor.
It was closed to the public in 1981 due to security concerns. I’ve been told the interior of the public places has been left as is for the last 40 years.
Claim Street scene with Hillbrow Tower 2018 (Source: Marc Latilla)
Summit Club by Manfred Hermer 1952 (Source: Marc Latilla)
Site of the old Mini Cine and underground flea market Pretoria Street 2015 (Source: Marc Latilla)
Site of the old Cafe Zurich and Mi Vami 2015 (Source: Marc Latilla)
Corner of Twist and Kotze looking east toward Highpoint (Source: Marc Latilla)
Old shops on the corner of Klein and Kotze Streets (Source: Marc Latilla)
Pretoria Street site of Bella Napoli (Ackermans) (Source: Marc Latilla)
Outside Bella Napoli 1980s
The following sites provided additional reference for the Hillbrow posts:
Bibliography:
Smith, A, 1971. Johannesburg Street Names. Johannesburg: Juta & Company, LTD
Norwich, O. I, 1986. A Johannesburg album-Historical postcards. Johannesburg: AD. Donker
Benjamin, A, 1979. Lost Johannesburg. Johannesburg: Macmillan
Chipkin, C. M, 1993. Johannesburg Style-Architecture & society 1880s-1960s. Cape Town: David Philip
Grant, G & Flinn, T, 1992. Watershed Town-History of the Johannesburg city engineers department. Johannesburg: Johannesburg City Council
Van Rensburg, C, 1986. Johannesburg – One Hundred Years. Johannesburg: Chris Van Rensburg Publications
Griffiths, G & Clay, P, 1980. Hillbrow. Details unknown
Hughes, L, 1978. Johannesburg-The Cosmpolitan City. Johannesburg: AD Donker
Robertson, C, 1986. Remebering Old Johannesburg. Johannesburg: AD Donker
Websites
http://www.dsj.co.za/en/about/history.html
https://adcockhistory.wordpress.com/
http://www.jewishgen.org/safrica/newsletter/SA-SIG-NL-2007-06.pdf
http://www.jda.org.za/index.php/latest-news/46-news-2008/january
Notes:
Added Circle Court and Brenthurst Place photos and details.
Johannesburg 1912 - suburb by suburb research 
Wow. Thanks for the trip down memory lane.
I lived in various parts of JHB including Hillbrow from about 1970 – 1985 and used to jol at Bella Napoli and other places. Also often used to go to Bimbos and the Golden Egg and the disco at the Chelsea. And I’ll always remember the Three Sisters because they had a restaurant upstairs where I went for my 18th birthday, was feeling very adventurous and ate sheep’s brains as a salad!
Thanks Brendan!
Thank you for your fascinating article, Marc. When we were first married we lived in Hillbrow in the early seventies and have happy memories of life in the suburb in those days. In the late sixties Exclusive Books was situated in much smaller and more intimate premises in Kotze Street before moving to the bigger store next to the Hillbrow Record Centre.
Thanks Jean! I didn’t know that about Exclusive Books. Will update accordingly.
Yep, I remember that earlier one.
What a pity that Hillbrow has gone down the drain completely. Nothing of the charm it once had has been left. Than comes the question, why this massive destruction ????
Charming isn’t it..what did you expect? Some people will still deny the obvious truth..it can’t work.
What can’t, Glen? Let’s hear you explain it.
Thank you for all of this! It’s a trip down memory lane for my father who is in his late 60s now! He moved to South Africa back in 1972, so seeing this brings back so many happy memories to him! You wouldn’t believe how one small picture could brighten up his whole day 🙂
Glad to hear it! Thanks for reading it.
Great work Marc. It was lovely meeting you on Ish’s Doornfontein walking tour a couple of weeks ago. Keep up the good work and look forward to seeing more!
Thanks Eli and great meeting you! I’m still updating all my Doornfontein posts with the new information and pictures I got from Ish’s tour.
Wow! A trip down memory lane, I mentioned to a colleague that I used to live in Hillbrow in the early 90’s, then went online to look for the Sentinel on van der Merwe Street, -unrecognisable. I don’t recognise modern day Pretoria Street at all. I remember the OK, I bought my first bed there. I remember Cafe Three Sisters and Golden Egg…..NOSTALGIC AFTERNOON!
Thanks Linda!
In 1993, we used to live in no 77 The Sentinel. Had loads of fun there (our first flat away from home), but sadly left the area in late 1993 when things started getting a bit rough. Used to drive my mom dilly when we used to go up to the roof and “hang” (bend) over the top wall near the washlines – she used to freak out! Amazing views from the rooftop – I took some stunning sunset photographs from there.
Having known Hillbrow and surrounds from 1962-1998 like the back of my hand.What lovely memories of the buildings,clubs shops alleys etc.I knew them all
Thanks Billy!
What a spot the Brow was..lived in Eloff str 1968 moved to Margate Court (see movie Tsotsi) cnr Kaptein & Banket str later, it used to spook in the semihouses across the road ..Priests ..slamaaiers couldn’t do anything about it..eventually became open ground after being demolished..a deaf and dumn family and their other family lived there..daggarokers and violent people one had a bike the other one a Willies Jeep
I used to live in Margate court too 103 🤗1984
loved the article, I was training as a paramedic in the early eighties, and worked Hillbrow for 17 years , even published a book” tales from my stethoscope”. best training any medic could receive at Joburg Gen, Hillbrow hospital and Bara. I got to know so many of the old beautiful buildings in and around the city centre, with their old checked black and while tiled floors and brass lifts!
Thanks Bruna. I see you have two books out…great work!
i have this articles find: from golden era in hillbrow
“Honey, Milk and Bile”: a social history of Hillbrow, 1894–2016 | BMC …
https://bmcpublichealth.biomedcentral.com/…/s12889-017-4345-…
J Stadler – 2017
04.07.2017 – Indeed, Hillbrow residents who, in the vast majority, are black and relatively recent arrivals, have little to connect themselves to neighbourhood histories prior to the 1990s [6]. Meanwhile, former residents of the suburb, for the most part white, lament these changes as personal losses of a ‘golden era’.
I lived an worked in an around hillbrow ,71-76 .married my wife An had two kids there. What wonderfull memories this article brings to mind ,,,, Bryan An suzanne O’hare,Wanganui ,new zealand
Wasn’t it just the best! I worked as a waiter at the Landrost ***** Hotel (Barnato’s) in 1981 I think, and took Tina Turner out for a Jol to Midnight Starr which was East of Sterland cinema..didn’t have a clue who she was but she paid the entrance fee R20 (steep those days ) but drinks were free and mix like Coke 50c. Plastic glasses. She asked if she could sing and I asked the Greek owner/manager not sure and he said ‘can she sing?’ I replied I don’t know so he said yes one song only so I told her and swigged my drink and left for home (walking to cnr Twist & Pietersen str)
I briefly worked at a restaurant in Hillbrow the end of 1974 called Lili Marleen as a wine hostess. (I was getting ready to travel overland from Joburg to London). Any memories or photos would be appreciated. Cathy Patrenos- Sutter Creek, California
Thanks Cathy. I’ve not come across any mention of Lili Marleen. Ill keep an eye out
I do hope that you didn’t travel with what I recall was Africa Overland that used to park their truck opposite Highpoint in Pretoria street across Le Poulet Chicken? These nice people brought in landmines and explosives to South Africa ..or whats left of South Africa..
I believe I may have insights into the life of Hillbrow in the 1940s as I lived with my parents at 411 Avonal Court, Van de Merwe Street from 1946 to 1948. This was because my father’s company had sent him to SA to sell Carreras ‘Craven A’ cigarettes. We came on the troopship Alcantara from Tilbury to Durban in the spring of 1946. I actually remember hearing the Woman in White singing to us as we sailed along Durban’s mole.
Once we had settled in Hillbrow I started going to Parkview Junior School which I enjoyed and where I soon made friends. The one name I remember from those days was Margaret Freud.
Many of us Hillbrow children went to the same school and we could usually catch a bus that took us there, but sometimes if the bus was already full we had to walk. I guess that would be unthinkable now, as would be walking up to the main street to buy sweets or comics or see the Saturday morning children’s film show which was sometimes frightening.
There are a couple of questions somebody might be able to help me with:
We used to go swimming at a beautiful pool on top of a Kloof not many miles away from Jo’burgs centre and I made friends with several boys who lived below the hill top. Does anybody know where that pool was?
My father, who had been a battery commander in the British artillery in North Africa joined the 4th Transvaal Horse Artillery as a part-timer and we often spent our Saturday’s at the regiment’s headquarters somewhere close to the centre of the city. I loved those afternoons playing around the guns with other boys, eating either in the tented mess or at open air BBQs (is brai the right word?), meeting the colonel and watching young officers racing their horses up the tree lined avenue adjacent to the small parade ground. Again, could anybody please tell me where the regiment was based?
One last thing, we often went to parties in the afternoon where many of the grown-ups were writers, artists or university professors. I later realised that some of these brave men and women became early members of the ANC.
I hope this email has shone a little light on Hillbrow life seventy or more years ago.
Hi Peter, thanks for your memories! The pool may have been the Brixton public swimming pool. There were others in Malvern, Rhodes Park, Melville, Zoo Lake and Linden.
The military HQ may have been the ‘Drill Hall’ in Twist Street. It was opposite the Union Grounds and close to Joubert Park near the railway lines. Does that ring any bells?
. We moved to Yetta Street in1934 one block from the Berea fire station where I spent much time. I went Twist street school and when it closed to Hospital Hill School. I was in first class at Temple Israel under Rabbi Weiler.When World War 2 began Nm 55 year old father joined Sa Air Force and my mother and I moved to boarding houses . We moved to Vergelieen annex in Catherine Avenue then in 1945 to Gainbourough Mansions. I walked to Patktown Boys Hjgh Schol past Clarendon Circle. As a pharmacist. It I worked at Ingrams chemist emergency serice at nights. Then I went To Wits…we used to go to the Golen Ray Cafe after Biosope for mon-key gland steaks. And to the Florian for foasred an chovie.. I had a flat in Curzon Court in Edith Cavell . I left Hillbtow to go to the London School of Economics in 1954. . I know live inI Ken ya athe age of 91 Iin a paradise outside Nairobi.. MY MEMOIRS -Swimming through Life are available on Amazon.
I worked in Hillbrow as a paramedic for 17 Years, and I remember the two pharmacists well, we often were called there when cops arrested junkies who broke into the pharmacy to get Welcenol, a drug only used in South Africa know as “pinks”, As a paramedic we use to get Bimboe’s food and watch the sunrise at Sylvias pass after night shift! awesome memories. On new years eve medics would fight to work that shift as it was always going to be exciting and never boring.
I was born at the Florence Nightingale in 1955. We lived in a block of flats Elstree in Catherine Avenue, Berea. I remember as a kid the Golden Ray café with its neon sign of a flying saucer. Being a small kid, my dad thought I should be built up so he sent me to the American Health Club gym.
I went to Roseneath school on Empire Avenue and remember going to open air concerts in Joubert Park, sponsored by Springbok Radio and hosted by Duggie Laws. Thanks for some great memories. I have tons more!
Thanks! American Health Club became the Sam Busa gym I think? I have some pics of the mansion that stood on the grounds where Roseneath school is today
I went to ‘little’ Roseneath primary boy scouts..patrol leader of the Owl Patrol my buddy was patrol leader of ‘Pecker patrol’ ..you were perhaps in scouts? Mike and Mauler were the ‘Chief I think’ Scouts and mr Warren was a Springbok or Queen Scout from Beaconsfield Court in Edith Cavell str.
I was never in the cubs, Boy Scouts or Sea Scouts or anything like that. My dad (who was in the banned South African Communist Party) didn’t hold with organisations like the Boy Scouts. I have very fond memories of Roseneath including the headmaster Mr Geoghan who was a kindly man.
Yes Billy Liodaki’s was one of them and I know exactly where the Chemist was..it was between Esselen and Kotze str on Edith Cavell..the building next door to the chemist was Beaconsfield court.
Everyone seems to think that the first Exclusive Books was in Hillbrow, but I’m sure that I remember an earlier one situated in a downstairs “basement” somewhere in the area of what became the Carlton Centre.
Hi David, the first store was opened in 1951 in King George Street near Joubert Park. The first Hillbrow store was originally in Kotze Street. The flagship Hillbrow store next to Hillbrow Records opened in 1973.
Hi. In answer to the comment about the Liil Marleen restaurant, I lived in Hillbrow in 1970, taking a sabbatical from college, and went there all the time, not that I loved German food, but it was a happening place, as was Hillbrow. I remember that the owner or co-owner was a lady called Uschi (sp?), who I think was German. I was back in Hillbrow 5 years ago and it had changed beyond recognition – for the worse.
Slum now, what do you expect? Star newspaper headlines in 1995 ‘75000 Nigerians in Hillbrow’ in 1 year
Fabulous, thanks for the trip down memory lane.
Thanks Stan!
Thank you for the wonderful memories I remember the man made waterfall on Nugget street and the flee market . Next to The theatre on nugget street . So much fun
I lived in Hillbrow from 1962 to 1972. Some of the best years of my life. In 7 different buildings, each one getting bigger. Last address was the flats New Ridge Heights, my flat faced the firemen’s houses. Met my husband in 1966. Moved out when my daughter was one year old and my two stepdaughters came to live with us. Flat too small, bought a house in Boksburg. Left for Ireland in 1994 after my husband died. Would hate to see it now. I will not even visit SA.
Good Day,
I am interested in little streams,
spruits & rivers’s associated
with the development of
Old Johannesburg.
Would someone be able to
advise what happened to
the waterfall on
Nugget Hill Johannesburg.
Kind regards,
Tracy Flynn
Hi Tracy, the waterfall on Nugget Hill has not been operational for some years. It’s not a natural source. I do have some stream info in various pieces here. From memory: Jukskei source is near Ponte. Braamfontein Spruit source is Sturrock Park near gasworks. It joins the stream that comes from Barnato Park in Hillbrow and both run through Delta Park and eventually join the Limpopo. There is a great guide from the 1980s called Mervyn King’s trail guide which has a lot of detail on this. Try Bookdealers in Melville.
Thanks for the interesting reply Marc. I remember the waterfall at Nugget Hill. Do you know what happened to the World War 2 tank memorial also at the bottom of Nugget Hill?
I’ll see what I can find out about the tank. It’s vaguely familiar…
it was called Pullinger Kop