Johannesburg aims for urban renewal

Johannesburg was founded in 1886 after the discovery of huge deposits of gold. The city has been through cycles of prosperity and depression and numerous buildings in a variety of architectural styles testify to its changing fortunes.

This was the site of the last and largest of Johannesburg's three steam-driven power stations, which supplied electricity to the city from 1934 to 1942. The building fell into neglect until ten years ago when it was restored. AngloGold Ashanti, the world's third-largest gold producer, and other businesses took possession of the premises in 2007.

The neo-baroque facade of Johannesburg's Cosmopolitan Hotel, which was built between 1899 and 1902, reflects the optimism at the time of the South African gold rush. The Victorian building used to house a pub. It was also very popular with mining companies. Following decades of neglect there are now plans to restore the building.

After the end of apartheid, many South African banks and corporations left downtown Johannesburg and relocated to neighborhoods in the north. Black South Africans then moved from townships and slums to the city center. They have helped revive downtown Johannesburg with numerous little shops.

The Fietas Museum in Johannesburg's Fietas neighborhood was recently renovated. This part of town was once home to South Africans of different ethnicities, but under apartheid in the 1960s and 70s almost all residents of the district were forced to relocate elsewhere. Many old buildings were destroyed and this is one of the few to survive.

German architect Wilhelm Pabst fled Nazi Germany for Johannesburg in 1935. He built the Chinese United Club Mansion in German Expressionist style in what was then Johannesburg's Chinatown in 1948.

The old Avalon Cinema in Johannesburg's Fordsburg neighborhood is a relict from the days when small cinemas were common all over town. When many white South Africans moved out of the city center at the beginning of the 1990s, many cinemas closed down. The premises were either torn down or taken over by other tenants. The Avalon Cinema was turned into a gun shop.

Hardly any other building illustrates the rise, fall and potential renewal of downtown Johannesburg as poignantly as the Ponte Tower. It was built in Hillbrow in 1975 when it was one of the most prestigious places to live. After the end of apartheid it fell into disrepair as the area became unsafe. Today it is popular with students who love the panoramic view of the city it provides.

There is more to Chancellor House than meets the eye. This used to be the offices of Nelson Mandela and Oliver Tambo - the founders of South Africa's first black law firm in 1952. The last tenants moved out in the 1990s. Squatters moved in and the house became dilapidated. It was later damaged by fire. The building was renovated from 2010 to 2012 and has since been turned into a museum.

It is a typical sight in downtown Johannesburg. Buildings like this one, which date from the end of the 19th century when Johannesburg was expanding, were abandoned and neglected after the end of apartheid. Recently investors have started buying up old buildings and renovating them.

"Read Beeld" says this rusty old billboard in Johannesburg's city center. "Beeld" used to be one of South Africa's most widely read tabloids in Afrikaans - and still is to this day. It first appeared in 1974 and is read mostly by white South Africans.

During the apartheid era, Johannesburg Central Police Station was notorious for the interrogation, torture and abuse of anti-apartheid activists by the South African security police. Steve Biko, founder of the Black Consciousness Movement, died here while in police custody. Author: Thomas Hasel / sst Editor: Mark Caldwell