Commissioner Street (Johannesburg)

Last updated

Commissioner Street
Map showing Commissioner Street, Johannesburg.svg
Street map showing Commissioner Street
Location Johannesburg, Gauteng, South Africa
Coordinates 26°12′21″S28°02′25″E / 26.205696°S 28.040215°E / -26.205696; 28.040215

Commissioner Street is a major one-way street (westwards) in the Central Business District of Johannesburg, South Africa. It runs from the M31 (Joe Slovo Drive; Sivewright Avenue) to the R41 (Main Reef Road), and is indicated as part of the R24. The Carlton Centre, the 2nd-tallest building in Africa (the tallest office building in Africa), is located on the street, as is the southern end of Newtown. [1] There is little evidence of Commissioner Street's exact origin, although it is known that this street played a role in the development of Johannesburg. [2]

Contents

Commissioner Street in 1895 VRp24 COMMISSIONER STREET, JOHANNESBURG.jpg
Commissioner Street in 1895

History

Commissioner Street in 2006 Commissioner Street, Johannesburg.jpg
Commissioner Street in 2006

Historical events

Commissioner Street has been an important street in Johannesburg since the 1800s and has seen many significant events throughout its history.

Chinatown

Two Chinatowns are located in the city of Johannesburg, the first Chinatown is located on Commissioner Street and the second is in the suburb of Cyrildene. [9] [10] [11] The last remaining shops and restaurants of Johannesburg's first Chinatown are located between buildings 5 and 17 on the western end of Commissioner Street. [12] It was established in the early 20th century when the first Chinese immigrants settled west of Johannesburg and it is estimated that by 1904 there were 180 Chinese businesses operating in the Newtown area. [9] [13] This Chinatown hosts an annual Chinese New Year celebration on Commissioner Street. [10] [14] Since 1994, it has been affected by urban decay and growing levels of crime, reducing its size. It is also getting smaller due to most of the descendants of the original immigrants now being 2nd and 3rd generation South African Chinese who have started to spread out to do business in other parts of the city and country. [9] Many of the original businesses have moved to other areas in Johannesburg or closed down. The "New Chinatown" established in Cyrildene consists mainly of recent Chinese immigrants. [10] [12]

Heritage sites

Due to its long history, a number of buildings on Commissioner Street have reached the requirements to be protected as national or provincial heritage sites.

Renaming

In February 2012, the Premier of Gauteng, Nomvula Mokonyane announced that a proposal to rename Commissioner Street had been brought before the Gauteng Geographical Names Committee. The proposal was to rename the street after Apartheid struggle leader and founding member of the ANC Women's League, Albertina Sisulu. [15] The family of Sisulu welcomed this proposal. [16] The overall plan was for the sections of the R24 route in Johannesburg and Roodepoort to be renamed as Albertina Sisulu Road. [17] [18] Eventually, only the one-way street for the other direction (east), Market Street, was renamed to Albertina Sisulu Road in October 2013 [19] while Commissioner Street was not renamed.

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Johannesburg</span> Largest city in South Africa

Johannesburg is the most populous city in South Africa with 4,803,262 people, and is classified as a megacity; it is one of the 100 largest urban areas in the world. It is the provincial capital of Gauteng, the wealthiest province in South Africa. Johannesburg is the seat of the Constitutional Court, the highest court in South Africa. Most of the major South African companies and banks have their head offices in Johannesburg. The city is located within the mineral-rich Witwatersrand hills, the epicentre of the international-scale mineral, gold and (specifically) diamond trade.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Albertina Sisulu</span> South African anti-apartheid activist (1918–2011)

Albertina SisuluOMSG was a South African anti-apartheid activist. A member of the African National Congress (ANC), she was the founding co-president of the United Democratic Front. In South Africa, where she was affectionately known as Ma Sisulu, she is often called a mother of the nation.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Gauteng</span> Province of South Africa

Gauteng is one of the nine provinces of South Africa.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Carlton Centre</span> Skyscraper in Johannesburg, South Africa

The Carlton Centre is a 50-storey skyscraper and shopping centre located on Commissioner Street in central Johannesburg, South Africa. At 223 metres (732 ft), it was the tallest building in Africa for 46 years from its completion in 1973 until 2019. It is today the continent's fifth tallest building after The Leonardo, the Mohammed VI Tower in Morocco, the Great Mosque of Algiers Tower in Algeria and the Iconic Tower in Egypt. The foundations of the two buildings in the complex are 5 m (16 ft) in diameter and extend 15 m (49 ft) down to the bedrock, 35 m (115 ft) below street level. The building houses both offices and shops, and has over 46 per cent of the floor area below ground level.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">N3 Eastern Bypass (Johannesburg)</span> Road in South Africa

The N3 Eastern Bypass is a section of the Johannesburg Ring Road that forms a beltway around the city of Johannesburg, South Africa, as part of the N3. The first section of the freeway opened in 1971, from Buccleuch to the interchange with Main Reef Road in Germiston. This is one reason why Germiston is listed as the southbound destination of this route, from the Buccleuch to Geldenhuys Interchanges, rather than to the Elands Interchange south of Germiston. The remaining section from Main Reed Road to Black Reef Road, which included the construction of the Geldenhuys Interchange, was opened in 1977, linking the Eastern Bypass with the N3 freeway to Heidelberg. The interchange at Main Reef Road was removed.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">N1 Western Bypass (Johannesburg)</span> Road in South Africa

The Western Bypass is a section of the N1 and the Johannesburg Ring Road located in the city of Johannesburg, South Africa. Known at the time as the Concrete Highway, the freeway was initially opened in 1975 as a route to avoid the city centre of Johannesburg and to provide access to the western areas of the Witwatersrand. From the south, the Western Bypass begins at the Diepkloof Interchange in Soweto, where it splits from the N12 freeway and ends at the Buccleuch Interchange, where it merges with the N3 Eastern Bypass, M1 South and N1 Ben Schoeman freeways.

Bruma is a suburb of Johannesburg, South Africa. It is noted for a small lake, and for its popular flea market which sold souvenirs from across Africa. The old flea market was closed due to the development of a Chinese mall. Around 50 art and craft traders operate from nearby Oppenheimer Street and continues to attract many visitors and tourists. The area surrounding Bruma Lake has been redeveloped in the last few years. It has a small mall known as Asia City. The mall mainly sells goods imported from Asia.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">R21 (South Africa)</span> Road in South Africa

The R21 is a major north–south provincial route in eastern Gauteng Province, South Africa. Built in the early 1970s, it remains one of two freeways linking Pretoria with Johannesburg, via the R24. As the eastern of the two freeways, it links the Pretoria city centre with OR Tambo International Airport and Boksburg. Between the Solomon Mahlangu Drive on-ramp in Monument Park, Pretoria, and the N12 interchange in Boksburg, the R21 is an 8 lane highway and motorway (freeway), with 4 lanes in each direction. It has off-ramps leading to Irene, Olifantsfontein, Benoni, and Kempton Park. The route intersects the N1 highway near Centurion, the R24 near the airport, the N12 and N17 in Boksburg, and the N3 near Vosloorus on the East Rand, where it ends. The section from the N12 to the N3 is not a freeway. The R21 is also designated as the P157.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">R24 (South Africa)</span> Road in South Africa

The R24 is a major East-West provincial route in the Gauteng and North West provinces that links OR Tambo International Airport with Rustenburg via Johannesburg, Krugersdorp and Magaliesburg. The process of renaming the streets and freeway that form the route from OR Tambo International westwards up to a point in Roodepoort after anti-apartheid stalwart Albertina Sisulu was completed in 2013.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">R41 (South Africa)</span> Road in South Africa

The R41 is a provincial route in Gauteng, South Africa, that connects Johannesburg with Randfontein via Roodepoort.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Newtown, Johannesburg</span> Place in Gauteng, South Africa

Newtown is a suburb of Johannesburg, South Africa. It is located in the capital city of Gauteng Province and in Region F of the City of Johannesburg Metropolitan Municipality. It has the coordinates of 26.204°S and 28.034°E. The suburb originated as a manufacturing district for brick production.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Orlando Stadium</span> Stadium in Soweto, South Africa

Orlando Stadium is a multi-purpose stadium in Soweto, a township in Johannesburg, in Gauteng province in South Africa. It is the home venue for Orlando Pirates Football Club, a professional soccer team that plays in the Premier Soccer League and owned by the City of Johannesburg.

Cyrildene is a suburb of Johannesburg, South Africa, predominantly home to Chinese people. The area is found east of the Johannesburg CBD and is surrounded by the suburbs of Linksfield, Observatory and Bruma. It is noted for a new Chinatown that exists on Derrick Avenue. This new Chinatown is now considered as the main Chinatown in Johannesburg, replacing the declining Chinatown on Commissioner Street in the inner-city of Johannesburg. It is located in Region F of the City of Johannesburg Metropolitan Municipality.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Naledi High School</span> Government school in Soweto

Naledi High School is a government secondary school at 892 Nape Street in Soweto. The school took an important role at the start of the Soweto Uprising in 1976.

The M9 is a major metropolitan route in the City of Johannesburg, South Africa. Passing through the heart of the Witwatersrand, it connects the southern suburbs of Johannesburg via the centre of Johannesburg, with the northern suburbs and business centres of Rosebank and Sandton before ending in the outer northern suburbs.

The M31 is a metropolitan route in the City of Johannesburg, South Africa. The road connects the southern suburbs of Alberton with Johannesburg's northern suburbs. The route's eastern bypass in the Johannesburg CBD connects the M2 motorway at the Heidelberg Interchange with M1 North motorway in Houghton and then the route follows the M1 motorway northwards until the M31 ends in Bramley.

The M18 is a long metropolitan route in Greater Johannesburg, South Africa. It connects Krugersdorp with Bruma via Constantia Kloof, Florida, Auckland Park, Braamfontein and Observatory.

The M59 is a short metropolitan route in Greater Johannesburg, South Africa. The entire route is in the western part of the City of Ekurhuleni Metropolitan Municipality, particularly in Kempton Park and Edenvale.

The M99 is a short metropolitan route in Greater Johannesburg, South Africa. For its entire route, it parallels the R24 highway in the City of Ekurhuleni Metropolitan Municipality.

References

  1. ↑ "Carlton Center". www.mydestination.com. Archived from the original on 2 May 2014. Retrieved 30 April 2014.
  2. ↑ "Street Name Changes". www.heritageprotal.co.za. Archived from the original on 2 May 2014. Retrieved 30 April 2014.
  3. ↑ "Joburg's Firsts (pg.2)". joburg.org.za. Archived from the original on 2 May 2014. Retrieved 1 May 2014.
  4. ↑ "Home page". Archived from the original on 4 May 2014. Retrieved 3 May 2014.
  5. ↑ "A History of the South African Film Industry timeline 1895–2003". www.sahistory.org.za. Archived from the original on 2 May 2014. Retrieved 1 May 2014.
  6. ↑ "A history of film in Gauteng". www.gautengfilm.org.za. Archived from the original on 2 May 2014. Retrieved 1 May 2014.
  7. ↑ "Dr Anton Rupert establishes the Voorbrand Tobacco Company in Commissioner Street, Johannesburg". www.sahistory.org.za. Archived from the original on 2 May 2014. Retrieved 1 May 2014.
  8. ↑ "Carlton Centre". www.gauteng.net. Archived from the original on 14 July 2014. Retrieved 1 May 2014.
  9. 1 2 3 "Visit Joburgs 2 Chinatowns". www.travelstart.co.za. Archived from the original on 8 February 2014. Retrieved 2 May 2014.
  10. 1 2 3 Cox, Peter. "Johannesburg Celebrates Chinese New Year". Voice of America. Archived from the original on 4 May 2014. Retrieved 3 May 2014.
  11. ↑ "From China to Joburg". www.cidforum.co.za. Archived from the original on 4 May 2014. Retrieved 4 May 2014.
  12. 1 2 "Chinatown". www.inyourpocket.com. Archived from the original on 15 May 2014. Retrieved 30 April 2014.
  13. ↑ "THE HISTORY OF NEWTOWN". www.newton.co.za. Archived from the original on 2 May 2014. Retrieved 30 April 2014.
  14. ↑ "Celebrate the Lunar New Year in Joburg". www.jda.org.za. Archived from the original on 26 December 2015. Retrieved 30 April 2014.
  15. ↑ "More sports facilities planned". www.joburg.org.za. Archived from the original on 7 February 2013. Retrieved 2 May 2014.
  16. ↑ "Sisulu family pleased with renaming". www.thenewage.co.za. Archived from the original on 2 May 2014. Retrieved 2 May 2014.
  17. ↑ Cox, Anna. "Ma Sisulu's name to be on 18 Joburg streets". www.iol.co.za. Retrieved 22 January 2023.
  18. ↑ Erlank, Natasha (2017). "From Main Reef to Albertina Sisulu Road: The Signposted Heroine and the Politics of Memory". The Public Historian. 39 (2): 31–50. ISSN   0272-3433.
  19. ↑ Maseng, Kabelo (21 October 2013). "Market Street makes way for Albertina Sisulu". Rosebank Killarney Gazette. Retrieved 10 June 2024.