Lost Johannesburg by Arnold Benjamin

ISBN: 9780869540817

Macmillan South Africa, 1979

Hardcover, 102 pages

A unique record of the city that has vanished of notable buildings, landmarks and places obliterated in a mere ninety-odd years. Johannesburgs short history has been marked by constant cycles of restless destruction and rebuilding. In their course the city has lost much of its character, individuality and sense of the past.

Benjamins pictorial memoir, a representative choice coloured by some personal nostalgia, covers old theatres, hotels, clubs, office buildings, flats, restaurants and shopping precincts. Among others it deals with the much-loved late-Victorian Standard Theatre, whose demolition occasioned Johannesburgs first public demonstration over a building; with some of Parktowns stately mansions, the old Carlton Hotel, the remarkable Palace Buildings (1889-1957) and the original Wanderers Club, a city-centre sports stadium now submerged under railway platforms. It includes some important landmarks lost in very recent years, and several entire areas such as Sophiatown, Alexandra Township and Pageview whose unique character has been destroyed or damaged through ideology rather than the profit motive.