In 1961 the "new" Johannesburg Civic Centre was being conceptualised. The City of Johannesburg invited architects to submit their plans for the new landmark building in an open competition. As part of this process the City issued a folder labelled Architectural competition / Boukindige Prysvrae containing a locality plan and detailed site plan.
The locality plan, issued by the city Engineer B L Loffel, revealed the location of the proposed new civic centre (to be sited on the ridge to the north of the old city centre, between Braamfontein and Hospital Hill) in relation to the railways, and identified the other public buildings and spaces of Johannesburg (City Hall, municipal administration, rates hall, the Cenotaph (marked for removal on the plan), the Johannesburg Public Library, the Magistrates Courts, Union Grounds, Joubert Park, the Art Gallery, Attwell Park, the Supreme Court and the Stock Exchange). The plan also indicated zoning into general residential, educational, hospital, light industrial, shopping, special office, mixed office and residential and office.
In addition to the plans some wonderful aerial photographs of Johannesburg as it was in 1961 were included. These give a fantastic view of the new Civic Centre site and what lay beyond. Here is Johannesburg frozen in time as it was 54 years ago, before the motorway and before the Civic Centre when Braamfontein (a kilometre from the centre of down town Johannesburg) was transforming from residential to apartment blocks and new office skyscrapers. It was to become the fashionable alternative to the old Johannesburg centre.
