MyJHB

Stuff from Johannesburg

Harry Hamlin Answers Our Clash of the Titans Questions

Johannesburg, Gauteng, South Africa in the news:

  1. Harry Hamlin Answers Our Clash of the Titans Questions: For the actor, making the cult classic involved clashing with the producers over decapitations, Apartheid, and robot owls. – “Johannesburg” – BingNews
  2. Springbok news: Damian de Allende reveals cause of pit-fire accident – petrol!: Springbok duo Damian de Allende and RG Snyman have suffered burns in a fire pit accident just a month before the British & Irish Lions tour. – “Johannesburg” – BingNews
  3. Foundation of FW de Klerk denies reports on his health: The foundation of South Africa’s last apartheid-era president, FW de Klerk, has denied reports that his health is “rapidly deteriorating” after he was diagnosed with cancer earlier this year … – “Johannesburg” – BingNews
  4. Foundation to spend .3B to vaccinate Africans for COVID: One of the world’s largest foundations will spend $ 1.3 billion over the next three years to acquire and deliver COVID-19 vaccines for more than 50 million people in Africa. It’s a … – “Johannesburg” – BingNews

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Have you tried: Visiting Port Elizabeth?

Did you know this about Johannesburg? The Ansteys Building at the corner of Jeppe and Joubert Streets was designed by Emley and William and completed in 1937. It is recognised as a prime example of Art Deco Architecture, a style synonymous with modernisation, optimism and Americanisation before World War 2. The departmental store, N. Anstey’s and Company, occupied the first four floors of the building. The tea terrace was on the fourth floor and was a destination of choice for the ladies of the northern suburbs. The building is 20 storeys high and was, when it was completed, the highest building in the southern hemisphere. The remaining storeys were offices and apartments, some of them occupying an entire floor. The building terminates in a mast designed for docking air ships.

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Ponte City: Transformation

As the “white flight” of the 1980s and 90s drained the inner city of capital, Ponte City underwent a dramatic and terrifying transformation. By the late 1990s, the building had become a “vertical slum” and a symbol of urban decay. It was famously “hijacked” by gangs; the retail levels were stripped, and the building became a fortress for drug dealing and human trafficking. The most haunting image from this era was the central core. Originally designed to be a light-filled courtyard, it became a literal trash heap. Residents on the upper floors would throw their refuse into the center of the building rather than taking it down. At its worst point, the trash in the core reached five stories high—a mountain of rotting debris, discarded furniture, and even, legend has it, the remains of those who had fallen or jumped.

During this period, the reputation of Ponte was so toxic that there was a serious proposal in 1998 to turn the entire skyscraper into a vertical prison. The plan was eventually scrapped, but the building remained a “no-go zone” for nearly a decade. The turnaround began in the mid-2000s when developers New Metro Property Group and later Dlala Nje began a massive, painstaking refurbishment. They cleared out the tons of trash from the core, restored the lifts (which had often been out of order, forcing residents to climb 50 flights of stairs), and implemented strict security protocols.