Diagonal Street is one of Johannesburg's iconic streets with an energy hard to find anywhere else. It is difficult to imagine a time when its very existence was threatened. The following compilation of sources provides an overview of the preservation of Johannesburg's most famous street scene. The details appeared in a survey conducted by Johann and Catharina Bruwer in the early 2000s. Thank you to the City of Johannesburg for giving us permission to publish.
A section of Diagonal Street (The Heritage Portal)
In The Star (“JCI plans to demolish Indian shops”), of 18 March 1987, it was reported that the Johannesburg City Council’s planning department had been approached by Johannesburg Consolidated Investments (JCI) with a view to the proposed demolition of the city’s most famous street scene. “The Victorian shops on Diagonal Street between Pritchard and President Streets, with their balconies, filigree iron work and the colourful Cairo-style fruit market date back to 1896. The street was recently renovated and fitted with Victorian streetlamps by Anglo American at a cost of R800 000. The public is unlikely to take the news sitting down. The shopkeepers, whose shops are a tourist attraction, were appalled when they heard the news yesterday.” It was reported that the Argus company had sold its Diagonal Street property behind The Star building to JCI for...
