Directory of Inner CIty Cool

Astor Mansions 1932

In 1932, Astor Mansions transported the American Skyscraper to downtown Johannesburg – dwarfing the rest of the city at a massive11 stories! Designed by the architects Obel and Obel, the buildings distinctive roof spires mimic the Stainless steel pinnacles atop New York’s Chrysler Building. Even the name “Astor Mansions” emblazoned across the 11^th floor, and visible across the entire city in the 30’s, aspired to the glamour of the Big Apple’s Waldorf Astoria, and to the appeal of all things American. Tucked away on the corner of Joubert and Von Brandis Streets, Astor Mansions remains one of Johannesburg’s finest Art Deco survivors, a reminder of an elegantly optimistic 1930’s city.

Chrysler House 1936

Chrysler House stands at the Southern edge of the city, a deserted monument to Johannesburg’s old Motortown District. Designed by the architects Nurcombe and Summerly, the Building creates a distinctive and typically Art Deco silhouette against the city skyline, the upper floors stepping back on each other-  like a giant Egyptian Pyramid. Bands of Bauhaus style ribbon windows wrap the building’s upper office levels. Most distinctive though is the West Elevation, its glazed window wall towering twenty six meters above Eloff Street! Vertical stainless steel fins once adorned the structure, heightening its elegant New Yorkesque skyscraper quality. The Chryslers modern exterior was echoed in the motor showrooms, packed with the latest American automobiles and finished in acres of glass, marble and chrome. When completed in 1936 the building housed the fastest motorcar lifts in the British Empire, hoisting cars on to showroom floors for seven levels and securing the Chrysler its status as a monument to Johannesburg’s modern age!

 The Ansteys Building 1936

Designed by the architects Emley and Williamson for Norman Anstey and Company Department store, Ansteys was the tallest building in Africa when completed in 1936. The ziggurat shaped skyscraper remains one of Johannesburg’s most recognized Art Deco buildings, situated in the heart of the old downtown retail district. To 1930’s Johannesburgers Ansteys must have seemed impossibly tall - its sky scraping form soaring above the bustling city side walks. The Ansteys structure peels back as it shoots skywards, terminating in a mast designed for docking airships! Ansteys has a rich social history. The Chairman of the JSE kept a penthouse in the building, as did the Playwright and anti-apartheid activist Cecil Williams, who was arrested together with Nelson Mandela on the 5th of August 1962. Ansteys is recognized as the downtown address of choice for off beat city artists and urban pioneers, people keen to secure their own stake in Johannesburg’s rebirth.

His Majesties 1945

Commissioned by the property mogul I. W. Schlesinger, His Majesties secured the reputation of Commissioner Street as the theater district of Johannesburg. His Majesties was Johannesburg’s very own Rockefeller Center, complete with illuminated signage and giant crowns above its twin 18 story turrets. Designed by J. C Cook and Cowen in 1937, the building was finally completed in 1945, at the end of the Second World War. Accommodating the famed His Majesties Theater at street level, the superblock structure also contained 18 floors of offices - home to the Joannesburg Bar for many years. Even Joe Slovoe had an office in the building. Schlesinger based his 500m2 office on the penthouse floor, complete with Rhodesian teak paneled boardrooms, a timber spiral staircase, vaulted ceilings, and uninterrupted views across the city! 

Shakespeare House 1936

Designed in 1936 by the architects J C Cook and Cowen, Shakespeare House is another exemplary Johannesburg Deco Building. Although worse for wear, Shakespeare House compliments the neighboring “His Majesties Building” - vertical window bands accentuating the building’s height, culminating in an elegantly articulated roofscape, complete with Art Deco flag masts. Above the entrance to the building remains the unusual and beautifully articulated name “Shakespeare House”

Innes Chambers 1961

By the mid 1950s His Majesties Building had become too small to accomodate the Johannesburg Bar. In 1961 Sidney Abromowitch was appointed to design Innes Chambers as a new home for The Bar. Conveniently situated opposite The High Court on Pritchard Street, some members of The Bar were concerned that the new building was too far away from the legal professions other favorite haunt – The Rand Club. The architect conceived the form of the building as a backdrop to the court building, and care was taken to produce a relatively low building to avoid dominating the Supreme Court. The result was a beautiful Brazilian inspired modernist building. Clad in opalescent white mosaics which shimmer in the Johannesburg Sunlight, the unusual patterned façade screen is reminiscent of a beautiful Shweshwe fabric motif. Innes Chambers is earmarked for refurbishment as A grade legal offices, with a project start slated for later in 2012.

Ponte City 1976

When completed in 1976 no1 Lily Avenue Berea -‘Ponte City’, was arguably the most coveted residential address on the African Continent. A victim of 90’s capital flight to the suburbs, the iconic cylindrical structure of Ponte City became a monument to decay, urban legend, fear, and the unknown. Today Ponte still captures Johannesburg’s imagination, as much a part of the contemporary collective conscious, as when it was built in the mid ‘70s! While the average suburbanite will probably never visit Berea, or set foot in a building like Ponte, 36 years later the giant cylindrical tower remains synonymous with Johannesburg, its elegant form imprinted on every iconic Johannesburg skyline. The Building is currently undergoing a complete transformation - already attracting a diverse demographic of new residents, from photographers and journalists, to foreign nationals seeking their fortune in the city of gold. Ponte has transcended the spirit of 70’s South Africa – adapting to a completely new and different context, a symbol of contemporary cosmopolitan Johannesburg!