In a famous quote, Herman Charles Bosman wrote that the Joburg citizen “was imbued with one laudable desire of making all the money he could in the shortest possible time.” That, and the City’s cycles of boom and bust have resulted in an architectural landscape that Clive Chipkin memorably describes as a “dustbin of discarded styles”. 

But, those who know the City well can guide you to Johannesburg streets where time has stood still, and where an elusive architectural uniformity still exists. We travel through time to explore turn of the century high street architecture in Jeppestown, including a handsome pharmacy and liquor merchant. Nearby, we find a remarkably preserved set of cottages and a corner store, and then we travel into town via a street of modest semi-detached cottages in Bertrams, still bravely holding on amongst the surrounding decay.

Our next stop is altogether grander, the commercial centre of Johannesburg in 1910. In the area we’ll be exploring not only do the buildings share a decade, but most were constructed by two respected and clearly well-connected architectural firms. 

Finally we’ll explore our City’s art deco heritage, still resplendent in a street that has changed little from the 1940s.

Email mail@joburgheritage.co.za to book.

• GUIDE: Brett McDougall and Judith Cabral
• TIME: 14h00
• PARK: Sunnyside Park Hotel, Princess of Wales Terrace, Parktown
• COST: R250 for members and R300 for non-members 
• DURATION: Approximately 3 hours
• MAXIMUM No: 50
• SAIAT CPD Points: 0.2 for Category 1