Tag: Doornfontein

• From Finishing School to French Kiss: The Many Lives of 96 End Street

  

  The definitive history of 96 End Street including club mixes from Mandy’s and IDOLS

  Marc Latilla

  April 12, 2025

  Johannesburg

  Doornfontein, End Street, ESP Nightclub, Idols Nightclub, Mandy’s Nightclub, SA College of Music, Sir Herbert Baker

• Lost churches of early Johannesburg

  

  This is part one of a piece on lost churches in early Johannesburg. Part two will focus on old churches that are still standing but no longer used as originally intended (and a few that are, but only the old ones up to the 1950s…). For continuity, I have included the existing version of a…

  Marc Latilla

  June 16, 2015

  Johannesburg

  African Methodist Episcopal Church, Apostolic Faith Mission SA, Baptist church, Beit Street, Braamfontein, Catholic churches, Chassidic Synagogue, churches, Doornfontein, Dutch Reform Church, Early Johannesburg, Ebenezer church, Eloff Street, Fordsburg, Harrow Road, Jewish history, Maronite, mosques, native missions, Ponovez Synagogue, Presbyterian church, Rev. Darragh, Rosebank Union Church, Sivewright Avenue, synagogues, Talmud Torah Synagogue, Wesleyan

• Bertrams and Lorentzville

  

  Bertrams On 9 May 1889 Robertson Fuller Bertam (estate agent and stockbroker) leased a portion of land from the Bezhuidenhouts. The township laid out on the leased land was known as Bertram, and later as Bertramstown, appearing as such on an 1896 map. The suburb was meant to cash-in and catch the overflow from New…

  Marc Latilla

  February 13, 2014

  Johannesburg

  Baden-Powell house, Bertrams, Bertrams Junior School, Bertrams Synagogue, Bezhuidenhout, Chapman cottages, Doornfontein, Early Johannesburg, Gerald Fitzpatrick House, history of johannesburg, Judiths Paarl, Kimberly Road Shul, Klooflands, Lorentzville, Maurice Freeman, tin houses, Wedge cottages

• Theatres and Bioscopes in early Johannesburg

  

  The first theatre in JHB called Theatre Royal was in Market Street (east) and erected on 17 June 1887 (some sources say 15th June) by J. Mipping. The portable and demountable structure came from Newcastle. The two stands on which the theatre was erected were purchased by Mipping via a sale on 8 December 1886.…

  Marc Latilla

  July 29, 2013

  Johannesburg

  20th Century, Academy Theatre, Adam Leslie Theatre, Alhambra Theatre, Anstley’s, Apollo, Astoria, Avalon, Bantu Men’s Social Centre, Bijou Theatre, Black Sun, Blue fox, Braamfontein, Brooke Theatre, Carlton Theatre, Chelsea Hotel, Chelsea Theatre, Cinerama, Civic Theatre, Colosseum, Commissioner Street, Curzon, Doornfontein, Dorkay House, Eloff Street, Empire Palace of Variety, Fillis Circus, Fine Arts Theatre, Fox Street, Gem Theatre, Globe Theatre, Grove Kinema, Highpoint, Hillbrow, His Majesty’s, Intimate Theatre, Market Street, Market Theatre, Melville, Metro, Mini Cine cult cinema, Moncine, Monte Carlo, Odin Theatre, Orpheum, Oxford Hotel, Piccadilly Theatre, Plastic Theatre, Playhouse, Plaza Cinema, Regal Kinema, Rissik Street, Royal Cinerama, Scala Theatre, Sophiatown, Standard Theatre, Starlite, Ster City, Taj Cinema, Tea Room cinemas, The Colony, Theatre Royal, Victory Theatre, Village Theatre, Windmill Theatre, Yeoville, YMCA Theatre

• Short history of trams in Johannesburg

  

  Since moving this blog from Posterous (RIP), the traffic has more than doubled and for the first time I’m also able to see what people searched for to get to my blog. A few weeks ago there was a spike in ‘tram’ searches so I decided to slot a quick history of trams in-between the…

  Marc Latilla

  June 1, 2013

  Johannesburg

  Barry Hertzog Avenue, Belgravia, Boksburg, Braamfontein, Commissioner Street, Doornfontein, Early Johannesburg, electric trams, Fordsburg, Harrison Street, horse trams, Jeppestown, King George Bridge, Market Square, Melville, Raandjeslaagte, Rand Tram, Rustenburg Road, Siemert Road, Spencer Commission, Staib Street, tram routes, trams, Trolley-buses, Twist Street, William Henry Miles

• Bezuidenhout Cemetery

  

  Going back to before Johannesburg’s birth for this post…Before the discovery of gold, the area was made up of various boer farms after which many of todays suburbs are named:Laanglaagte, Braamfontein, Doornfontein, Diepkloof and Turffontein to n…

  Marc Latilla

  January 3, 2012

  Johannesburg

  Bez Valley, Bezhuidenhout, Doornfontein, Eric Rosenthal, family cemetary, Geldenhuis, Viljoen

• Warrington Hall (Hildasheim)

  

  The absolute last Doornfontein post…At the corner of Pieterson and Nugget street stood Warrington Hall which was built by F. Eckstein in the 1890s. It was across the road fromReunerts Windybrow (which still stands today) I’ve attached a google e…

  Marc Latilla

  December 23, 2011

  Johannesburg

  Aerial photographs, Doornfontein, Friedrich Eckstein, Hildasheim, Nugget Street, Warrington Hall, Werner Beit Co., Windybrow

• Doornfontein Pt.4 (Yards, Alhambra Theatre, Van Wouw house, Marlborough House, Crystal Bakery & Jewish Workers Club)

  

  In early 1900s – 1920s various yards emerged in the Jeppe area and adjacent in what was termed ‘New Doornfontein’. A yard (or slumyard) was an area that housed workers from around the city (mostly black domestic servants like ‘house boys’, ‘kitche…

  Marc Latilla

  September 21, 2011

  Johannesburg

  Aerial photographs, Alhambra Theatre, Anton Van Wouw, Apollo, Beit Street, Crystal Confectionery, Doornfontein, Doornfontein Primary School, Gordon Leith, Harrow Road, Jewish Workers Club, Joe Slovo Drive, Lions Shul, Marabi culture, Marlborough House, Ponte, Shamus’s Yard, Sivewright Avenue, slumyards, Theophile Schaerer

• Doornfontein Pt.3 (Eastington & The Turrets)

  

  It appears as though I’ve mistaken my mansions (or at least the reference books I’m using have) I’ve always believed the house that once stood on the hill on Harrow Road across from where Ponte is now was known as THE TURRETS. It was in fact calle…

  Marc Latilla

  June 17, 2011

  Johannesburg

  Aerial photographs, Alhambra Theatre, Doornfontein, Eastington, Harrow Road, Lions Shul, Louisa Street, Ponte, Sam Jameson, Saratoga Avenue, St. Augustine Street, The Turrets, Warrington Hall

• Doornfontein Pt.2 (Norman House, I. H. Harris School, 96 End Street & Caledonian Hall)

  

  On the very edge of old Doornfontein running North to South is End Street – so called because that is where town literally ended. What was to become Doornfontein on the right was then just grazing land. John Dale Lace (Norman House) and Barney Bar…

  Marc Latilla

  April 28, 2011

  Johannesburg

  Adam Leslie Theatre, Aerial photographs, Andrew Wood, Barney Barnato, Bertrams, Caledonian Hall, Club Babylon, Donald Mackay Park, Doornfontein, Ellis Park, End Park, End Street, ESP Nightclub, Idols Nightclub, John Dale Lace, Leck & Emley, Mandy’s Nightclub, Natal Spruit, Norman House, Nugget Street, Ponte, SA College of Music, Sir Herbert Baker