Hillbrow | |
|---|---|
 Hillbrow and the Hillbrow Tower | |
  Hillbrow  Hillbrow | |
| Coordinates:26°11′20″S28°2′56″E / 26.18889°S 28.04889°E /-26.18889; 28.04889 | |
| Country | South Africa |
| Province | Gauteng |
| Municipality | City of Gauteng |
| Established | 1894 |
| Area | |
• Total | 1.08 km2 (0.42 sq mi) |
| Population (2011)[1] | |
• Total | 74,131 |
| • Density | 68,600/km2 (178,000/sq mi) |
| Racial makeup (2011) | |
| • Black African | 98.3% |
| • Coloured | 0.9% |
| • Indian/Asian | 0.3% |
| • White | 0.4% |
| • Other | 0.2% |
| First languages (2011) | |
| • Zulu | 36.7% |
| • Southern Ndebele | 16.1% |
| • English | 9.7% |
| • Northern Sotho | 7.1% |
| • Other | 30.4% |
| Time zone | UTC+2 (SAST) |
| Postal code (street) | 2001 |
| PO box | 2038 |
| Area code | 010 |
Hillbrow (/ˈhɪlbroʊ/) is anInner City residential neighbourhood ofJohannesburg,Gauteng,South Africa. It is characterized by a high population density and has experienced issues associated withmunicipal disinvestment, including elevated levels of unemployment, poverty,prostitution,[2] and crime.
Under theGroup Areas Act duringapartheid, Hillbrow was initially designated a "whites-only" area. It later became a "grey area", where residents of different ethnic backgrounds lived together. During this period, it developed a reputation as a cosmopolitan neighbourhood with a politically progressive character and was one of the first recognizedqueer neighborhoods in South Africa.
For much of the twentieth century, Hillbrow had a significantJewish community and was home to severalOrthodox synagogues, including theGreat Synagogue and Poswohl Synagogue.Temple Israel, the oldestReform synagogue in South Africa, continues to operate.
Following the end of apartheid, population growth,white flight, and socio-economic pressures contributed to rising crime rates and a decline in infrastructure maintenance.[3] During the 1980s and 1990s, many wealthier residents left the area, and numerous buildings fell into disrepair.[4]
Today, Hillbrow is home to large numbers ofimmigrants, particularly fromZimbabwe andNigeria, alongside residents from localtownships.Urban regeneration initiatives are underway. The Johannesburg Art Gallery, located nearby, houses works by prominent South African artists, including William Kentridge.
Today, the majority of the residents are incoming migrants from neighbouring country Zimbabwe and from Nigeria. There are a few locals living there from thetownships. An urban regeneration programme is underway.
Prior to the discovery of gold on theWitwatersrand in 1886, the area that later became Hillbrow was located on government-owned land known as Randjeslaagte, which today forms part of theJohannesburg Central Business District. Randjeslaagte was a triangular tract of land not used for farming, with Hillbrow situated at the northern apex of the triangle. The name Hillbrow derives from the suburb’s position on the brow of the east–west ridge that runs across the Johannesburg Central Business District.[5]
The land was originally owned in the form of claims by J. Nicholls, who subsequently sold them to the Transvaal Mortgage, Loan & Finance Company.[6]: 129 Hillbrow was laid out for residential development between 1894 and 1895, with stands auctioned by Richard Currie.[5][6]: 129 In 1897, Hillbrow was incorporated into Johannesburg’s Sanitary Board.[6]: 129
FollowingWorld War II, property values increased, and much of Hillbrow was redeveloped intotower blocks.[6]: 129
Since the early 1920s, Hillbrow has been home to a Jewish community.[7]Jewish residents and investors were responsible for constructing many of the neighbourhood’s buildings.[8] Several social and cultural meeting places also developed, including the Florian Café on Kotze Street,[8] which later became known as a gathering place for left-wing activists. Jewish anti-apartheid activistRusty Bernstein described developing his political awareness there through discussions withKurt Jonas, the son of German Jewish migrants and his fellow student at theUniversity of the Witwatersrand’s School of Architecture.[9]
Religious and communal institutions were established in Hillbrow. TheGreat Synagogue, formerly located on Wolmarans Street, was considered the central synagogue of Johannesburg and a major centre of Orthodox Judaism in South Africa.[10]Temple Israel, designed byHerman Kallenbach, is the oldestReform synagogue in the country and has been designated a heritage site.[11][12] The former Poswohl Synagogue on Mooi Street, named afterPasvalys inLithuania, served congregants who had emigrated from that town and was declared a National Monument in 1981.[13]
In 1967, confrontations occurred in Hillbrow between German immigrants makingNazi salutes at a localbeer hall and Jewish youth. TheWest German embassy in South Africa issued a statement condemning the salutes and attributing them to young people unfamiliar with life underNazism.[14]
During the 1960s and 1970s, many elderly Jewish residents purchased flats in Hillbrow.[8]
Several Jewish architects contributed to the design of Hillbrow’s buildings.Harold Le Roith introduced features such as pavement gardens at Golden Oaks, completed in 1976, and also designed Cresthill Mansions, later converted into social housing.[15][16] In the 1970s, Isaac and Gloria Rootshtain purchased the Cranbrook Hotel on Leyds Street, aresidential hotel originally designed by Le Roith that had been featured inThe Architectural Review in 1953.[17] They reopened it as akosher establishment named The Connoisseur.[18] Gloria Rootshtain later authoredCooking with a Connoisseur (1982), described as South Africa’s first celebrity cookbook.[18][19]
In the mid-20th century, Hillbrow developed a reputation as a center for a whitegay community. Beginning in the 1960s, several gay-oriented establishments and publications were established in the area.
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From the mid-1970s onward, Jews began moving from Hillbrow and other inner-city suburbs to the northern suburbs of Johannesburg.[8] In 1978, the South African branch of theNational Front distributed racist andantisemitic pamphlets in Hillbrow critical of Jewishlandlords who rented properties to non-white tenants.[20]
In the 1987 elections, the far-rightNational Party fieldedLeon de Beer as a candidate in Hillbrow. His campaign was promoted in the Hillbrow-based gay publicationExit and combined support for gay rights with a proposal to resegregate Hillbrow as a whites-only district.[21] De Beer won the election, becoming the first elected official in South Africa to run and be elected on a platform that included support for gay rights.[22][23]
In 1989, Isaac and Gloria Rootshtainemigrated toIsrael, selling The Connoisseur hotel in the same year.[19]
In 1990, one of South Africa’s first training and information centres forHIV was established in Hillbrow, serving primarily white gay men at its inception. In the 1990s, much of the white community—including the largely white gay community—left Hillbrow as part ofwhite flight. By the late 1990s, the clinics in Hillbrow were primarily serving Black heterosexual women.
As of 2018, a small number of poor and elderly Jews remained in Hillbrow and the neighboring suburb ofBerea, receiving support primarily from Jewish charities in Johannesburg.[24]
Several social action groups and organizations have been active in Hillbrow to address local social challenges. In 1990, Jean du Plessis and Adele du Plessis founded The House Group, which established shelters and programs focused on the care and rehabilitation of female child victims ofcommercial sexual exploitation. The organization’s first premises were located at 52 Soper Road, nearPonte City, before relocating in 1993 to two adjacent buildings at 60 Olivia Road, at the base of theHillbrow Tower. These facilities included The House Drop-in Centre and the Intombi Shelter. The House Group was among the first organizations to advocate for legislation granting girls in shelters the same legal protections as boys. In 1997, theGauteng Provincial Government enacted the first legislation enabling shelters to accommodate girls.
TheConstitution Hill precinct, which houses theConstitutional Court of South Africa, is situated on the western edge of Hillbrow. It forms part of a broader government and private sector initiative to revitalize the area and the central business district.
TheHillbrow Tower, atelecommunications structure, is a prominent feature of the Johannesburg skyline and has appeared in numerous depictions of the city, including the city seal. Completed in 1971, the tower stands 270 metres tall, making it the tallest building with alift in Africa. Originally named theJG Strijdom Tower, it became widely known as the Hillbrow Tower and was officially renamed theTelkom Joburg Tower in May 2005, with the new name displayed in lights. The tower previously housed a luxuryrotating restaurant, which closed in 1981 due to security concerns.
Ponte City is the tallest residential building in Johannesburg and is regarded as a notable urban landmark. Designed by architect Rodney Grosskopff, who also designed theJohannesburg Civic Theatre, it was completed in 1975. The building rises 54 storeys above one of the highest points in the city and is distinguished by its cylindrical form. Once considered a desirable address, Ponte City experienced deterioration in living conditions during a period of disinvestment. In 1999 the building came under new management, with maintenance and gradual restoration undertaken alongside broader municipal and provincial initiatives to rehabilitate Hillbrow. In 2007, British directorDanny Boyle announced plans to use Ponte City as a film location.[25]
In 2000, directors Michael Hammon and Jacqueline Görgen released the documentaryHillbrow Kids, which followed the lives of street children in post-apartheid Johannesburg. In 2007,BBC Two broadcastLaw and Disorder in Johannesburg, presented byLouis Theroux, which examined crime and social conditions in the city, with a focus on Hillbrow.[27] In 2013,Al Jazeera English aired aWitness documentary on Hillbrow, portraying the suburb as a densely populated urban area characterized by both crime and resilience.[28]
Hillbrow has been the subject of several works by photographerDavid Goldblatt. His 1973 photographsHillbrow, Johannesburg, South Africa andDomestic Worker on Abel Road, Hillbrow, Johannesburg are held in the collection of theMuseum of Modern Art inNew York City.[29][30][31] The photographSunday Morning: A not-White family living illegally in the "White" group area of Hillbrow, Johannesburg depicts a Black family residing in the suburb in violation of theGroup Areas Act and is part of theYale University Art Gallery collection.[32]
In 2010, several of Goldblatt’s Hillbrow photographs were included in the exhibitionSouth African Photographs: David Goldblatt at the Jewish Museum in New York. These works includedHoldup in Hillbrow, Johannesburg, November 1963 andBaby with childminders and dogs in the Alexandra Street Park, Hillbrow, Johannesburg, 1972.[33][34] The exhibition pieces were loaned from theGoodman Gallery in Johannesburg. Other Hillbrow works by Goldblatt includeThe Watchman, Balnagask Court, Hillbrow (1972),Woman Shopping, Hillbrow (1972), andMan with an Injured Arm, Hillbrow (1972).[35]
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