We are excited to share these wonderful photographs of Johannesburg from above. Many were taken from the rooftops of the city while others are from a plane. Most of the images were captured from the late 1940s to the 1960s. Thank you to the Bath Family for giving us access to their priceless archive (click here to read more about the archive).
The main image is a phenomenal shot of His Majesty's. The blue plaque for this building reads as follows:
African Consolidated Theatres commissioned J.C. Cook & Cowen to design a new theatre and office complex in 1937, to replace the theatre of the same name which had opened in 1903. Construction was interrupted by World War II and only completed in 1945. Decorated with the plushness befitting royalty, His Majesty’s Theatre became the venue for spectacular productions. The theatre occupied the central block between the office towers which were topped with steel crowns, lit up at night. Advocate Joe Slovo, a leading communist and later Chief of Staff of Umkonto we Sizwe in the Anti-Apartheid Struggle, had chambers in the office towers.
Look how close the mine dumps were to town. Many of Joburg's dumps have been reclaimed in recent decades. Click here for an article on the Portal about this process.
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