#Architecture

Several months ago, Thorsten and I took a walk through the old Johannesburg Gas Works. Our visit happened spontaneously and we definitely shouldn’t have done it. Most of the Gas Works has been abandoned since gas production terminated 30 years ago, and the buildings aren’t safe. I felt guilty afterward and I don’t want to encourage anyone else to do this, which is why I didn’t blog about it for so long.

Several months ago I spotted a post in the @WhatsOnInJoburg Instagram feed. “Africa’s tallest Shiva Shakti Statue is in Benoni”, the post read, with a photo of the biggest, boldest, most colorful Hindu deity I’ve ever seen. I made a mental note to visit the Sivan Alayam Temple, a.k.a. the Shiva Temple, as soon as possible.

Almost ten years ago, I did an exhibition of photos I shot in Maboneng and Jeppestown, two adjacent neighborhoods in downtown Joburg. I had nearly forgotten about this exhibition (which you can read about here). But then a week ago I received an Instagram message from Abdullah Dajee, owner of a men’s clothing and shoe shop in Jeppestown called City Hall (which is also known as City Outfitters or City Hall Outfitters).

Thorsten and I spent two days in Arniston, a tiny seaside town about three hours southeast of Cape Town, as part of a mini Western Cape road trip to celebrate our anniversary. Our stay in Arniston was courtesy of the Arniston Spa Hotel and Cape Country Routes.

Third in my Roadhouses of Gauteng series. Browse all of my roadhouse posts or view a map of the roadhouses I’ve visited.

The Johnny Guitar Drive In, a roadhouse in downtown Alberton on Joburg’s East Rand, has a long and complex history. I’ll try to summarize what I know in a few sentences.

On Tuesday evening, South Point properties invited me to check out 56 Jorissen Street, a brand-new, high-rise student residence in Braamfontein. The whole building is beautiful – I almost wished I could become an 18-year-old college student again and move in. But the major highlight, of course, was the 16th-floor roof deck with nearly 360-degree views of Braamfontein and the rest of Joburg.