Houghton Estate

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Houghton Estate
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Houghton Estate
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Houghton Estate
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Houghton Estate
Coordinates: 26°9′S28°3′E / 26.150°S 28.050°E / -26.150; 28.050
Country South Africa
Province Gauteng
Municipality City of Johannesburg
Main Place Johannesburg
Government
 • Type City of Johannesburg Metropolitan Municipality
 • CouncillorMarcelle Ravid (Ward 73), Sihlwele Myeki (Ward 67) (DA (Ward 73), ANC (Ward 67))
Area
[1]
 • Total
6.94 km2 (2.68 sq mi)
Population
 (2011) [1]
 • Total
7,867
 • Density1,100/km2 (2,900/sq mi)
Racial makeup (2011)
[1]
 •  Black African 39.4%
 •  Coloured 2.0%
 •  Indian/Asian 22.4%
 •  White 34.3%
 • Other2.0%
First languages (2011)
[1]
 •  English 60.2%
 •  Zulu 8.0%
 •  Afrikaans 5.7%
 •  Northern Sotho 3.9%
 • Other22.3%
Time zone UTC+2 (SAST)
Postal code (street)
2198

Houghton Estate, often simply called Houghton, is an affluent suburb of Johannesburg, South Africa, north-east of the city centre.

Contents

The area was designated for white residents as part of the Group Areas Act during the apartheid era and became known as one of the city's upper-class neighbourhoods. [2] [3]

Historically, the area has attracted a significant number of Jewish residents and is the home of Johannesburg's flagship Orthodox synagogue, Great Park Synagogue. [4] [5] [2] Helen Suzman, a Jewish politician represented the suburb as Member of Parliament for Houghton from 1953 to 1989. [6] Suzman was succeeded by Tony Leon. [7]

The suburb is also known for being the home of the late president, Nelson Mandela.

History

Houghton was developed as a residential area around the turn of the 20th century, primarily by Johannesburg Consolidated Investment Company (JCI). [8] The suburb was laid out by surveyor Gustav Arthur Troye. [9]

Geography

Communities

Houghton Estate has traditionally been informally divided into two areas: Upper Houghton, and Lower Houghton. [10] Upper Houghton is the southern and south-eastern portion located on a ridge, while the northern Lower Houghton is flatter, and has a grid street pattern, with parts on both sides of the M1 freeway. Upper Houghton has been declared a National Heritage Area. [11]

Upper and Lower Houghton are separated by the East-West section of Houghton Drive and part of Louis Botha Avenue. Small sections of Upper Houghton lie east of Louis Botha Avenue (bordering Observatory), and west of the north–south section of Houghton Drive (bordering Parktown and Hillbrow). Houghton is surrounded by wealthy suburbs in all directions, except south, where Upper Houghton borders less-affluent suburbs like Yeoville and Hillbrow.

Architecture

Historically a wealthy area, it contains many mansions on big stands, blocks of flats, as well as office parks (developed on the sites of former homes) on streets close to the M1 and on Louis Botha Avenue. Houghton is architecturally varied.

There are good examples of art deco buildings (particularly some of the flats) and homes such as Silver Pines (1936). The house was designed by Swiss architect Theophile Schaerer for Rand pioneer and German Jewish migrant, Bernard Kaumhelmer, father of anthropologist, Ellen Hellmann. [12] [13] . And many of the large houses in the 1930s are good examples of the Modern style inspired by the work of Le Corbusier (Chipkin 1993), including Stern House (1935) designed by Rex Distin Martienssen and partners, as well as House Marks (1940) by Harold Le Roith. [14] [15]

Architect Piercy Patrick Eagle, also responsible for Jeppe High School for Boys and King Edward VII High School, designed 36 Houghton Drive (1919) in the Arts and Crafts style. [16] Normandie (1934) was also built in this style and designed by Harold Wolseley Spicer. The home was later purchased by Dr Polonsky in 1939. A year later, his son, Antony Polonsky, a Holocaust scholar, was born in the house. [17] Mourgana (1927) is also built in this style and was designed by Walter and Cyril Reid. [18]

House Suzman (1937) was designed by J.C. Cook & Cowen in the Spanish Mission style for the couple, Saul Suzman and Betty Sonnenberg, daughter of Max Sonnenberg. They were the parents of actress, Janet Suzman. [19]

Noordhoek (1938) was built in the Cape Dutch Revival style and designed by Albert Hoogterp. The house was commissioned by stockbroker Maurice Lipschitz. [20]

The suburb, particularly Lower Houghton, is currently experiencing rapid redevelopment. Although many plots had already been subdivided in two, there is now a trend towards the development of cluster homes. This redevelopment is sanctioned by the City of Johannesburg's Regional Spatial Development Framework. The city sees many positive aspects to the redevelopment, but it is not uncontroversial and has resulted in the destruction of many traditional houses.

Demographics

Religion

As with many suburbs in the North-East of Johannesburg, [21] [22] Houghton has historically been known for being a Jewish area, and is home to Great Park Synagogue. [5] Great Park was consecrated in Houghton in 2000 after its congregation closed its historic synagogue in Hillbrow in 1994, as the area declined and Jewish congregants moved towards the northern suburbs. [5] Houghton is also home to West Street Shul. [23] [24]

There is also a Muslim community that has expanded in the northern suburbs since the repeal of the apartheid-era Group Areas Act. A musallah was established in the east of the suburb, and, in 2011, a mosque, Masjid ul Furqaan was built by the Houghton Muslim Association on the site of the mussalah. [25] Another, larger mosque on West Street, visible from the M1 freeway, was, after delays, completed in 2013 by the Houghton Muslim Jamaat. [26] [27] [28]

Economy

Retail

There are few shops in Houghton itself, apart from convenience stores in petrol stations, but the area is close to numerous commercial nodes in Johannesburg, including those in Oaklands, Norwood, Killarney, Rosebank and Sandton.

Parks and greenspace

Houghton has two golf courses, Houghton Golf Club (1914) and the Killarney Golf Club (1903). [29] There is also a large public park, The Wilds (which has been described as "notorious" for muggings and crime). [30] A large sports club, the Old Edwardian Society (known as Old Eds), which includes a separate Virgin Active gym, is in Houghton. [31]

Education

There are a number of well known schools in Upper Houghton: King Edward VII School (1909), a public school for boys, also known as KES), along with its associated primary school, King Edward VII Preparatory School, known as KEPS, and St John's College (1907) a private Anglican school historically only for boys, while Roedean School (South Africa), a private girls school, is close by in Parktown. [29] Houghton School (a public primary school) is in Lower Houghton.

Law and government

Government

Lower Houghton, and a small part of Upper Houghton, bordering Observatory, are part of Region E of the City of Johannesburg Metropolitan Municipality, [32] and are currently (as of 2014) included in Ward 73, while most of Upper Houghton is part of Region F of the City of Johannesburg Metropolitan Municipality, [33] and is part of Ward 67.

Politics

During the apartheid era, the Houghton constituency in the whites-only parliament was represented by opponent of apartheid [34] Helen Suzman until 1989, and was, for a period in the 1960s, the sole seat of the Progressive Party in Parliament. [35]

Crime

Lower Houghton is part of the SAPS Norwood Police Station precinct, [36] while Upper Houghton is part of the Hillbrow Police Station's precinct. [37]

Infrastructure

Roads

Houghton is centrally located, straddling the M1 freeway, with interchanges at Glenhove Road (M1 N & S), Eleventh Avenue (M1 S), Riviera Road (M1 N), 1st Avenue (M1 S) and Houghton Drive (M1 N). Multiple metropolitan routes cross Houghton, including the M16, M20, M31, R25, and M11 (Louis Botha Avenue).

The grid street pattern in Lower Houghton consists mostly of numbered Streets and Avenues on both sides of the M1. Avenues run east–west, while Streets run from north to south. Avenue counting begins in the south with First Avenue (part of Metropolitan Route M16), and ends in the North with Seventeenth Avenue, while Street counting begins in the east with 1st Street, and ends in the West at 9th Street, with the numbered grid interrupted by Central, West and River Streets. North–south streets in Upper Houghton are generally named after trees, while east–west roads are named after Christian saints.

Lower Houghton and Upper Houghton are linked by Louis Botha Avenue, Houghton Drive, and the steep and winding Munro Drive, a National Monument which has a viewpoint with a view over the northern suburbs of Johannesburg. [38] [39]

Public transport

Louis Botha Avenue, in the east of the suburb, is an important minibus taxi route linking Hillbrow to Alexandra, [40] and, as of 2014, construction began on the expansion of Johannesburg's Rea Vaya bus rapid transit system to Louis Botha Avenue. [41] A Gautrain bus feeder route (numbered RB5) runs past the office parks on West Street, linking to the Rosebank Gautrain Station.

Notable people

Mandela Mansion, Houghton Estate, Johannesburg, 2014. Well-wishing mementos have been left in the foreground. 2014.S.Africa 475.JPG
Mandela Mansion, Houghton Estate, Johannesburg, 2014. Well-wishing mementos have been left in the foreground.

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References

  1. 1 2 3 4 "Sub Place Houghton Estate". Census 2011.
  2. 1 2 Wende, Hamilton (21 April 2011). The mosque next door The Mail & Guardian. Retrieved on 5 February 2025
  3. ↑ Heritage Houghton - A beautiful past and an uncertain future The Heritage Portal. Retrieved on 5 February 2025
  4. ↑ Tigay, Alan M. (1994). The Jewish Traveler - Hadassah Magazine's Guide to the World's Jewish Communities and Sights. New York: Jason Aronson. p. 241. ISBN   9781568210780.
  5. 1 2 3 Saks, David (22 July 2015). Great Park Synagogue – steeped in tradition The South African Jewish Report. Retrieved on 5 February 2025
  6. ↑ Cowell, Allan. Dugger, Celia W. (1 January 2009) Helen Suzman, anti-apartheid leader, dies at 91 The New York Times. Retrieved on 5 February 2025
  7. ↑ Leon, Tony (9 January 2009). Helen Suzman’s Fight To ‘Put Things Right’ The Forward. Retrieved on 5 February 2025
  8. ↑ Musiker and Musiker 2000:137
  9. ↑ "Troyeville". 2 May 2014. Retrieved 29 June 2023.
  10. ↑ "houghton heritage trust". Archived from the original on 13 January 2012. Retrieved 29 June 2023.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: bot: original URL status unknown (link)
  11. ↑ "Delight after Upper Houghton is declared a national heritage area". IOLProperty. Retrieved 8 February 2014.
  12. ↑ Celarent, Barbara (July 2012). Rooiyard: A Sociological Survey of an Urban Native Slum Yard by Ellen Hellmann. Review by: Barbara Celarent Chicago Journals. Retrieved on 5 February 2025
  13. ↑ Silver Pines The Heritage Portal. Retrieved on 5 February 2025
  14. ↑ From nearly demolished to heritage site The Citizen. 28 January 2021
  15. ↑ House Marks The Heritage Portal. Retrieved on 5 February 2025
  16. ↑ 36 Houghton Drive The Heritage Portal. Retrieved on 5 February 2025
  17. 1 2 Normandie The Heritage Portal. Retrieved on 5 February 2025
  18. ↑ Mourgana The Heritage Portal. Retrieved on 5 February 2025
  19. 1 2 House Suzman The Heritage Portal. Retrieved on 5 February 2025
  20. ↑ Noordhoek The Heritage Portal. Retrieved on 5 February 2025
  21. ↑ Rubin, Margot W (2006). The Jewish Community of Johannesburg, 1886-1939: Landscapes of Reality and Imagination (MA thesis). University of Pretoria. hdl:2263/28071.
  22. ↑ "Johannesburg". Jewish virtual library. Retrieved 29 June 2023.
  23. ↑ "The mosque next door". The Mail & Guardian. 21 April 2011. Retrieved 29 June 2023.
  24. ↑ "West Street Shul South Africa". www.weststreetshul.co.za. Retrieved 29 June 2023.
  25. ↑ "About Us" . Retrieved 29 June 2023.
  26. ↑ "Contact Details". Houghton Masjid. Archived from the original on 20 June 2014.
  27. ↑ "Houghton's West Street mosque". Rosebank Killarney Gazette. 12 July 2013. Archived from the original on 23 March 2016.
  28. ↑ Walliser, Grant (27 August 2008). "The great Saudi Arabian mosque hypocrisy". Thought Leader. Archived from the original on 11 December 2023.
  29. 1 2 Musiker, Naomi (1999). Historical dictionary of Greater Johannesburg. Internet Archive. Lanham, Md.: Scarecrow Press. p. 168. ISBN   978-0-8108-3520-7.
  30. ↑ Cox, Anna (18 May 2012). "The Wilds no longer a safe spot to climb". The Star. IOL. Archived from the original on 6 March 2016. Retrieved 29 June 2023.
  31. ↑ "Contact Us". The Old Edwardian Society. Archived from the original on 9 August 2018. Retrieved 29 June 2023.
  32. ↑ "Regional Map - Region E" (PDF). City of Johannesburg. Archived from the original (PDF) on 4 March 2016. Retrieved 13 June 2015.
  33. ↑ "Archived copy" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 24 January 2014. Retrieved 20 June 2014.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
  34. ↑ Burns, John F.; Cowell, Alan (January 2009). "Helen Suzman, Relentless Challenger of Apartheid System, is Dead at 91". The New York Times.
  35. ↑ "Helen Suzman, member of Parliament for Houghton, is elected as national president of the Progressive Federal Party. | South African History Online" . Retrieved 29 June 2023.
  36. ↑ "Houghton residents tackle crime" . Retrieved 29 June 2023.
  37. ↑ "Google Alert – Smash and Grabs Hotspots". Archived from the original on 27 December 2013. Retrieved 18 June 2014.
  38. ↑ "We'll always have Munro Drive – Reviews – Johannesburg Live" . Retrieved 29 June 2023.
  39. ↑ "Three Historic Johannesburg Passes | The Heritage Portal". theheritageportal.co.za. Retrieved 5 July 2020.
  40. ↑ "Goodbye Oxford Rd, hello Louis Botha…" . Retrieved 29 June 2023.
  41. ↑ "Construction". Archived from the original on 27 October 2018. Retrieved 23 June 2014.
  42. ↑ Adam Wakefield (9 December 2013). "Metre-high pile of tributes at Mandela home". IOL. Retrieved 8 February 2014.

Further reading