[3 Pics] S.Africa: The Decline of Johannesburg... Over 1,000 Hijacked buildings...

[This is one of the old but important stories from the original AfricanCrisis website that I am converting on to the new site, in the new format.

In recent months, other people have put out stories about the decline of Johannesburg and I think there is a blogspot dedicated to it. It does not reflect the extent of this decline. But keep an eye on the Johannesburg CBD (Central Business District, or "Inner City" as the Americans would say). Keep an eye on it in the years to come. You will see some bizarre things there. I know about the plans for the Inner City, and it will be high-density black housing. Then you'll see wild stuff! PS: Currently, I hear there are over 1,000 dilapidated or HIJACKED (yes, HIJACKED) buildings in the Johannesburg CBD! Jan]

	Johannesburg's Decline I found these two photographs on some post cards Igot hold of. These photos were taken in the 1970's I'd guess. I still want to do a much bigger story on thedecline of Johannesburg. But that will comelater. I'm merely showing these two old photos, especiallythe first one. Here you see a lovely sunset of Hillbrow,in Johannesburg, and the Hillbrow tower, which isabout 50 stories high.
	JOHANNESBURG_HILLBROW_TOWER.JPG
	Hillbrow used to be where the nightlife of Johannesburgwas in the 1970's and earlier. The Hillbrow tower isa major feature of Johannesburg's skyline. Around it aremany buildings in Hillbrow and Berea which are up to20 stories high. The Hillbrow tower with its lovely restaurant was amajor tourist attraction. It was closed in the 1980'sbecause of ANC terrorism, and HAS NEVER BEEN RE-OPENEDTO THE PUBLIC SINCE!!! Its still there, and merely houses aerials for various communications. The same is true of the Brixton tower - also in Johannesburg. Both towers were shut down and neverre-opened again - to this day. All those buildings you see in this photo around theHillbrow tower, are now occupied by blacks. Theentire area has become a slum and a hangout forprostitutes, drug dealers, etc. It is an extremelydangerous place. All the businesses and restaurantswhich catered for the nightlife and for entertainmenthave since closed down. Blocks of flats have beentaken over by blacks and have been vandalised.
	I must also tell the story of the Carlton centre (which is not featured in these photos). The CarltonCentre is to Johannesburg what the World Trade Centrewas to New York. It is a 50 storey building in theheart of Johannesburg. Next to it was the 5-star,Carlton Hotel. It was a business centre. The CarltonHotel has since closed down completely. It just standsthere - a 20 storey hotel - closed down, and not in use.It was once one of the finest hotels in Johannesburg. The 50 storey Carlton centre office block and undergroundshopping mall was recently sold for the pittance ofaround R5 million (less than US$1 million!!!). Where inthe world can you buy a 50 storey office block andshopping centre for that kind of money?? This is howJohannesburg has deteriorated. This photo shows the railway tracks leading to Johannesburgstation.
	JOHANNESBURG_RAILWAY_STATION.JPG
	The blacks who collect the trash decided to go on strike in Johannesburg (this was in 2002/3). When they did not get whatthey wanted - they went all over the city throwing out garbageon to the streets and roads. I took this photo one rainy night.The bright spots are reflections of raindrops on the window of my car. But the garbage can be seen lying all over the streets.
	JOHANNESBURG_STRIKE.JPG
	In the coming months I will do a full story on Johannesburg.I aim to travel to Hillbrow, etc and will take photos toillustrate this story further.

Posted By: Jan
AfricanCrisis Webmaster
Author of: Government by Deception

“Political language is designed to make lies sound truthful and murder respectable, and to give an appearance of solidity to pure wind.”
(George Orwell)

My all time favourite movie quote is from the Dwarf in Lord of the Rings: "Certainty of death, small chance of success... what are we waiting for?"

Date Posted: Wednesday 12-May-2010
Adapt or die.Seems alot of folk are still clinging to the 'GOOD OLE'DAYS' why are whites so scared of blacks??
You should be grateful we ain't as hatefule as yual.
For the shit you put us through, we should be raising hell, but eh, we're cool.Yual can spend the rest of yer
sorry lives re-livin the past..pity we ain't goin nowhere!So deal with it boet!
Now,step aside,we'al have a world cup to host..ever hosted one in your good ole days..eh? Well, maybe you can learn from your black brothers eh!

witbooi
johannesburg
RSA

Date Posted: Wednesday 07-Apr-2010
Anyone should feel free to judge and talk nonsense about what they don't know. The truth is anywhere where there is poverty will resemble the sight which you will witness in Jo'burg CBD; the street hawkers, the thieving Zimbabweans and the drug-dealing Nigerians are a result of war, unrest and poverty in their home countries.If you are going to pass judgements based on colour, note the rising number of poor white people especially the Afrikaners occupying most of the robots in western Jo'burg to beg for money. The black government could've done a better takeover from the previous, but what do expect from a people who have just come out of an era of oppression and bantu education. The black generation that S.A is raising now is being prepared to the fix the mistakes of the old S.A even post apartheid. It may take long for S.A to make perfect, but I am happy to be living in S.A and watching opportunities unfold for me which were dinied to my ancestors. For every black person stepping up the ladder, it is one less space for a white person. During apartheid, even a retard white Afrikaner would get a job at least at a post office. It is getting tougher for a huge number of the whites to compete especially the Afrikaners cos things came easy for them before. Keep judging black and critising the state of Jo'burg CBD but watch this space, even the blacks will suprise themselves.

Jay
Johannesburg, Honeydew
South Africa

Date Posted: Tuesday 30-Mar-2010
Sjoe ! Nostgalgic - you have many skills - not only ITl I thank you for the pics.
When us coastal naive Eastern Capeys visited the most Cosmopolitan City in SA in the 50's - we gawked ! Just like American movies of USA. No TV only cinema newsreels of Korean War. Our colonial city since 1820 was so cringe worthy. Hillbrow was awesome and the Oppenheimer fountain my kids delight. The tall building cricked our necks and we shivers in the tunnel of wind down street. Go in a shop in one door, lose direction and come out in another part of the city. Terrifying to our one entrance/exit shops. We ended up in an Industrial area and 'Daddy was the enemy !" Hillbrow was a Greenwich Village status.
Joburg was 1st World (my city Old World) until 16 years ago and the invasion by homeless local and migrants.

It is now Jozi - Mzanzi whatever that means.
Streets are poop pits and walls urinals. Males love to flaunt their proudest possession to ladies passing by. The stench is to be smelt! DON'T do.
Colourful Litter is the flowers that once were the pride of Park Dept. Please give pics of these city garden islands - there are many Google URLs. [Too PC illiterate to paste the pics.] These tell the real story of THE once world renowned City with Pavements of Gold.
Financial Institutions and 1st World Enterprise tootled off to Sandton and Suburbs. JSE still stands defiant as last vestige of Capitalism..(Soon to be looted) BILLIONS lost in slum dwelling.
I relocated to Gauteng 2001 and wanted to experience Joeys. My old crony drove her small car that had never reached the speed of that day ! She could have beaten Schumaker in that sprint. We lived to tell the tale.
All that is left are the toxic Mine Dumps that give population sinus and asthma.
Unwanted nostalgia and I will never again set foot in JHB other than visit my crony. Present company excepted Jan.

The restoration was a CAPITALIST and concerned citizens project at their own cost. Not JHB Municipality which is bankrupt anyway. Looting takes no prisoners.
Pics of the decay of the area around Methodist Church CBD polluted by ZIMS which ANC promised to relocate since ever. THAT is another story. Tell it.
I wait in great anticipation and pleeez make it soon - I am aging by the second.
THKS !

old female

Date Posted: Monday 29-Mar-2010
Just last week I took a group of my (mostly white) students into the CBD of JHB and up to the top of the Carlton Centre.

I actually think that the CBD has improved a bit in the last 10 years.

Sure there are plenty of "ghetto" looking buildings, but the are also quite a few buildings that have been refurbished and look OK. It was definately cleaner and less congested. There are still hawkers on the streets, but not as many as before, and they seem to be better controlled.

Carlton Shooping Centre has 100% rentals with some pretty flash shops, AD Spitz, top range clothing labels, a decent food court etc.

Would I like to live in the CBD? Not a chance!! but it is not a complete sh.thole.

Here's hoping that it does manage to regenerate itself.

WARRICK
JHB
RSA

Date Posted: Saturday 13-Mar-2010
@povo:

Anyone with a little computer background would have understood why. Jan, in his opening remark, did let us know that he migrated this story from a previous website. Conversions don’t always go smoothly. This is a perfect example.

Lars Pluss
San Francisco CA
USA

Date Posted: Saturday 13-Mar-2010
It would be an interesting article about the decline of JHB and especially Hillbrow Jan, I lived for many years in JHB and Hillbrow was our stamping ground where we spent many a night and morning at the old "discos" now called clubs. There was even a coffee house that sold booze (except for beer) after hours in HB with the full knowledge of the HB police. If you require any stories or info about Hillbrow please be free to contact me and I would try and answer as many questions that I can. I would like believe that I got all the enjoyment out of HB and Johies as one could and should.
Robert

robert clark
london
england

Date Posted: Friday 12-Mar-2010
"th grammar and spelling is terrible." (Sic)

HAHAHAHAHA Clasical case of Mupfrey's Law...No not MURPHY's Law....Mupfrey's Law.

Muphrey's Law: a) if you write anything criticizing editing or proofreading, there will be a fault of some kind in what you have written; (b) if an author thanks you in a book for your editing or proofreading, there will be mistakes in the book; (c) the stronger the sentiment expressed in (a) and (b), the greater the fault. (d) any book devoted to editing or style will be internally inconsistent.

RWR

Date Posted: Friday 12-Mar-2010
Povo,

For someone who produced 4 spelling and grammar mistakes in one sentence, are you sure you want to make an issue about this?

Povo quoted:
"I have not, in a long time, read such drivel!! I am not sure which is worse the OP or the crap that follows!

Please, at least, proof read your BLOG - TH grammar and spelling IS terrible. White SUPREMISIST, my ARSE! Superior to what?"

VRYBURGER

Date Posted: Friday 12-Mar-2010
I have not, in a long time, read such drivel!! I am not sure which is worse the OP or the crap that follows!

Please, at least, proof read your blog - th grammar and spelling is terrible. White supremisist, my arse! Superior to what?

povo

Date Posted: Wednesday 18-Nov-2009
if progress means to go from good to better, than, I am sorry, something wrong appened to South Africa.
I visited Jhb seven times from 1977 to 1994, but I doubt very much to do it again. May be Mr De Klerk had no other choices but do what he did...
It is a pity to see this beautiful country the way it is today, but, worse than ever, to see nobody is moving a finger to change the situauion.
Mr mugabe is in Rome to ask for money and criticise the western countries because they don't feed him properly... and the western leaders allowed him to come to Rome, to talk... sorry I have no words for that.
But do not panic, in a couple of years (or a little more) we all cry the same song.
Unless...
When Jhb will be the way it was in the '80 or '90, just call me: I'll be run there soon, but if Rome or Milan will become like Soweto, I will not stay there looking...
Good bye

P.F.F.
Como
Italy

Date Posted: Tuesday 18-Aug-2009
Believe the writer. The article was informative and interesting. Hoping to read more fresh insights from this talented perspective, the truth.

Nelson Mandala, icon for the American media was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize (western hypocrisy) because America, USA is turning into a black majority country or a people of color majority nation. It is all to obvious from a white American perspective with a black presidency in the USA.

Am not a bigot. Have no real hostilities against blacks. If my next door neighbor was black I would not move out. If a black person was sitting next to me in a restaurant I would stay the course (s) (pun). America is a racist country. Make no mistake about it. Just because the leadership has a black face doesn't mean racism does not run deep in the fiber of America.

As far as the Nobel Peace Prize goes, it is awarded by the Norwegians who will do anything the American government and its press tells em what to do. And blindly, obediently, fawningly without a whimper at that. I should have won the Nobel Peace Prize before Nelson Mandala.

That is my first name. Live in NYC, NY, USA which in the next 20 years will be completely overrun with blacks and Latinos (blacks who speak some Spanish) to the point where the city will be worse than Johannesburg, South Africa ever was.

Keep up the reportage. God speed.

America is a fake. The World Trade Center disaster, called 9/11 is one of the greatest American lies of all time among many. 9/11 is the same as 911 the national police emergency telephone number in the USA. 9/11 is 911. Not one elected official in the USA at any level has ever mentioned it once. Not one American news agency has ever stated that 9/11 is the same as 911 the national police emergency number in the USA because America is a police state, hypocrite, genocidal monster who acts out on American TV for the press while law enforcement agents cover up for them the American media and telephone companies.

Leslo
NYC
USA