Late 70's l lived in High-Point... 24th floor. .. Hillbrow was a very cosmopolitan place. Who remembers Cloud Nine disco at the top of the post office tower.. and the revolving restaurant.? Breakfast at Cafe Wien... on the balcony.? Ah! Good memories. 😊😄
Lived in hillbrow for 2 years 76 78 loved it wouldn't live there now it's ruined it was spotless you could walk home on your own in the dark what a shame
Cry, the beloved city! Jo'burg was really something in the 80s, clean, safe, and prosperous. How could HILLBROW be brought to such level of decay? Too sad...
Hillbrow is now an open sewer with rubbish on all the streets, rats bigger than cats roaming in the day, "Slum" is too good a word for it. Midden, trash heap, are better words and people live there.
Eish I always tell my mom that. Our country is changing from good to worse. The whole world is changing to good to bad and the government is to be blamed!!!
You got it , friday night straight down to joburg and Hillbrow. And proberbly back sat nights . Cloud 9 Was a favourite haunt . But many great discos and bars in around Hillbrow and joburg. R3 to get into cloud 9 mega boodle in those days . Well I was an apprentice.
Yeah, it sure was, we had good times for sure; I loved the Fontana chicken, and those Shwarmas, Oh my word, the food was the best; The Chelsea had some Rockin groups on a Sat' afternoon. Jol. omg, that made me giggle, The Nightclubs were good too.. What about ''Raffles'' at the ''Ambassador Hotel''. down Plein Street; Thanks for lighting me up, Ping!
The current state of Sa is not surprising. You give a country's sophisticated financial system, cities with proper infrastructure and systems to govern them effectively, to a Anc freedom fighters, who sees it as their turn to eat and you have the muck and the mess we currently swimming in. This country will be run into the ground and those that effed it up will leave quietly to see the rest of years out in somewhere like Russia (which is a popular destination for Anc cadres)
I worked in Sasol Secunda in 1980 and often went to joburg for some long weekends what a great place then , great memories so sad to see it in massive decline
I grew up down the road from hillbrow and would go watch movies at the cinema there on a weekend and then go to the huge record shop and browse through the albums then go down to the underground flea market.When I got older I would go to bellanapalies and thunder dome for a jol while on army pass .Good old days
Yep, the good old bella. There was a time when there was a nightclub called Cloud Nine at the top of the Hillbrow tower. Only us old timers understand what it meant to eat grilled chicken from Fontana, sitting on the steps of Highpoint at 3.30 am.
@@CasperLabuschagne Don't forget Shwarma from Bimbos after partying at the Thunderdome. I stayed in Ponte back in '85-'86 after National Service then 2yrs at Wits Tech. Probably had some of the best times in the 'Brow. After 19mths in SWA slotting floppies, the 'Brow was like heaven.
@@CasperLabuschagne Cloud 9 was the place to go, then the Bella afterwards. Fish hook ect . Best times of my life . Oh then the thumb a lift back to Kempton park lol.
You can have it all back if you get active and get involved and join forces with the many thousands of other South Africans who aren't sitting on their assets griping and complaining all the time.
@@jabujolly9020and do what? What’s the point of standing up when the majority of South Africans still support the ANC? Yes we can vote and that helps but it’s all we can do. Not to mention even if the ANC went out of government tomorrow it would take decades to restore hillbrow to what it once was, the social problems there are insane
Loved the Ambassador we were never out of it I was there in 76 to 78 went back home to Northern Ireland although my eldest son was born there great memories
@@mariewalker4010 I lived in Hillbrow 72 to74 eldest born in Edenvale worked in town then moved to Durban , back home to Scotland , but have brilliant memories of jo’burg and friends we met , so glad you enjoyed it too .
@@margaretthom1048 hi I lived in Joburg as a child in 63 with my family we then moved to Durban where we stayed for 4 years absolutely loved Durban then we returned home to Northern Ireland when I was 23 I went back to work there in 76 to 78 got married there my eldest boy was born there then we returned again back home beautiful country not sure if I would live there now great memories though
@@mariewalker4010 hi, I think we were lucky to be there in those years, such a beautiful country , we had the best time with young children then , just want to remember Durban and Jo’burg as it was , like you don’t think I would live there now what a shame .
I and my sister lived just off the Tower a few metres away. In place called Dunn Robin... So cool we used junaught out to the the German beer hall. And on the way back we'd stop iver😢 for an ice-cream 🥞 pancake...Hah. I don't remember the name but, we also used to Razzle at an Hotel's Disco in the mainstreet Oh. God, Hillbrow was the safest place in South Africa then. We would also visit the revolving Restaurant ontop of the Hillbrow Tower...😊...When we felt rich. 😅. Whata a beautiful place Hillbrow was then... everyone just about knew everyone else living in the vacinity... Now all we are just have living memories of the good times past... 😢😮😊😅😂.
I'm in the States. My mom was from Jo'Borg. She grew up in Yeoville. She came to the US in 1959. When I was a kid back in the 70s we used to travel to South Africa every few years to visit the relatives. I remember how nice it was back then. I wouldn't go there now.
@@maureenjackson2041 My mom came to the States because it was a great country back then. It's not anymore of course. Her migrating to the States had nothing to do with Apartheid.
We went window shopping there on Sundays........our treat was going to the movies on Saturday evening after eating pancakes at Harry's, pancake house........once a month that was, we lived in Boksburg.......1970......
I have 5 year old memories of looking up at the tower getting dizzy with vertigo in the early nineties. 2 years of memories in that place feels like an entire chapter of my life. Nowadays 2 years fly by and are almost totally forgotten. I wish someone had video footage of the drive in cinema and the musical fountains from back then.
@@yourfriendlyneighbourhoods8202 Yes it did seem a bit wild now that I think about it, although at that age I had no reference. It was crowded, and there were a variety of different strange characters. There was this one incident where a woman was getting beaten up by another bigger woman down the street, and she was going from shop to shop asking for help or to phone the police. I kinda got groped once taking a pss. And we got unexpectedly ball flashed by a transvestite when she or he bent down to pick something up. But that was more funny than alarming. My mother saw someone running down the street on fire. Which she said was the final straw that made her decide to move. Bullets whizzing by our flat door. One of the friendly street kids getting shot. There were a lot of street kids. And it was just a very colorful strange vibrant place. And all that in such a short time, yes I'd say it was probably pretty hectic already.
Oh my God ---- I was 10 to 12 yrs old when I lived in Berea (next to Hillbrow for anyone here doesn't know that, lol) I'd completely forgotten about how I loved my folks to take me to the "musical fountains" wow.... thanks for mentioning them 😊
Spent many happy hours in the Hillbrow record shop in the early to mid eighties. The book shops were good back then too, not like the rubbish that fills the shelves of Exclusive Books these days.
When I worked in Midrand I ventured into Hillbrow a few times in the late 70's, it was the place to go to get a late night meal when everything else around had closed. It was an exciting place with the best of vibes. It was also a place that received many emigrants from Europe and the collapsing neighbouring countries as the first place to setup in SA. In those times, the friction between the Porras and Lebs was well known and we stayed well out of their way. Now I live on the other side of the world.
@@jabujolly9020how? Cape Town still looks like a first world city. Even the townships have good roads but are still dirty and crime ridden because of the residents lack of respect for their environment and eachother
... jou sente, jou droome, jou toekoms vol gaate.... well absolutely just that... "your future full of holes" ! What a tragic mess South Africa has become. Nelson is turning in his grave at what his ANC bunch of criminals have inflicted upon the land. - Just another car hijacked gunshot survivor living in exile now !
Apartheid was the main cause of this... if you didn't do this to us blacks, Mandela wouldn't have gone to prison,, we wouldn't have been in this mess. You caused it by being greedy. You wanted everything to belong to you. If we were treated equally and working together from the beginning , South Africa would've been great. I'm not hating on whites but their government excluded us in everything.
I was in JHB last month and my cousin, who has lived there for 45 years had originally lived in Hillbrow. He said it was wonderful but that he wouldn't take me there now, even in an armoured car! Out of curiosity I got a driver to take me there. I was amazed. It was the worst inner city that I had ever visited. In fact it is one of the worst places of any description. Refuse collectors don't go there so the streets are ankle deep in rubbish. Broken windows, even in high-rises, shanty towns built inside large buildings, mattresses on the street, open drug taking and dealing. Human waste piled up in alleyways, no running water, no power (other than illegally wired power), crime rampant. Our black driver said to me, 'don't walk the streets even in daylight, your white skin may be mistaken for dollars!' It reminded me of Haiti. A truly shocking hell-hole. Yet 5 minutes up the road is the wealthy district of Houghton where Mandela ended his days. Houghton is another planet.
Its true what the taxi driver said about your white skin being mistaken for dollars. I got dropped off across the street from Hillbrow at the Civic Theatre ( the divide between Braamfontein side I was on and Hillbrow was like night and and day ). 3 guys spotted me and ran across the street. They wrestled my bag from me. All I had inside the bag was my lesson plans for the class I was about to teach. I shook my head and laughed as I watched them rummaging through the bag looking for something of value inside. Eventually I offered the only bit of cash I had in my wallet, R50 to buy back my bag . They agreed while trying to keep up their aggressive scary front , but I could tell they were feeling like total knobheads now. In hindsight the spectacle was worth the R50 I gave them.
When a society is fractured by those who donot value the creation of standards and respect for fellow citizens.There is no respect for the law either. All of these factors combine to result in a place like Hillbrow
Went to the movies in Hillbrow and saw the "Rocky Horror Picture Show"...ate at Bimbos often and enjoyed the vibe...well, ALL the GREAT days in SA are gone now...only the leftovers now...ANC is having a ball lol
Lekker days , Hillbrow was the top spot in my days . Jeez we had some great times ,lived for friday and sat nights. My old haunt was the cloud 9 disco up in the tower used to charge around R3 to get in ,which was a lot of money in those days for an apprentice studying at Smit street technical college. But a rand would go a long way in those days . Many a Red Heart and coke in those days . Then if some of the guys were around we would head to the likes of the fish hook for fish and chips . Then on to either the chelsea hotel or Bella Napoli . And if we sober enough Fontana all night chicken . Then thumbing a lift home to Elandsfontein near Germiston. Great times .
@abu Ming Amazing place to go as a youngster, Hillbrow and joburg was the place to go for entertainment, shopping ect . And well looked after and safe . When I went home I didnt recognise it .
@abu Ming Yes my friend different situation at the time . But some of us new that it would all change at some time . Such a shame south africa is in the position it is because it is truly a beautiful country . And if governed properly would be a wonderful place to live . I wish you well
I grew up in Bez Valley, and used to stop at Fontana late at night on weekends...Hillbrow had a happening VIBE...pity it's all ruined now. In 10 years time Cape Town will look like Hillbrow...so, go NOW whilst you can still walk round and NOT get robbed, mugged or shot lol....by 2035, South Africa will look like Zimbabwe....
Cape Town won’t turn into hillbrow. The policing there is far better than anywhere else in the country. It’s the only city the ANC doesn’t have its grubby mits on
In few areas it was first world but remember South Africa is a huge country and so there were and still are many undeveloped areas. Don't glorify it, yes it was beautiful but there were many issues that were hidden in the media!
Late night schwarma at Mi va Mi after movies at Kine Centre in town, browsing the albums at Hillbrow Record Centre, eating chicken on the pavement outside Fontana after a night at the clubs.
Yes, all of the above; wasn't it the best time ever! I could chow down on a Shwarma right now; I can smell those chickens roasting on those rotisseries in Fontana! Lekkerrrrr.
I'm in the States, but my mom was from Jo'Burg. When I was a kid back in the 70s we used to travel to South Africa about every few years to visit the relatives. I remember what a nice place Jo'Burg was. I never imagined it would end up like it is now.
What a beautiful city now turned into a massive garbage and deep rubbish... i wish these days will come and i can walk like a true free man having no fear of crime on these streets
@@lawsonhellu4718how can you say we’re on the same level when you have laws like BEE that actively discriminate against white people in the job market? Even Mandela called it “petty revenge”.
I stayed there for three months in 1982 at the MARISTON Hotel, working for Siemens in Braamfontein. It was not the best of places then but from what I read here it has changed beyond recognition. But Johannesburg was not - even then - what I envisaged South Africa to be like. So I was glad to see quite a few other places.
I also lived at the Mariston in the early 80's on the 25th floor ...loved the restaurant there - they made the best fillet & crepe suzettes. Loved the little pub there too.
@@bevleighlange3312 Interesting, what floor was the restaurant on? I pass by the building on the way to work, but it seems it’s not a hotel that it was before.
@@tonylancer7367 the restaurant was on the ground floor - at the entrance - turn right - 1st left to the pub & right to the restaurant- not sure what has happened to the building now ....... I remember Rugantinos, Landrost ,(dinner & dancing) Rand International (disco) - Top of the Carlton - fabulous snacks with drinks 🍸- beautiful days and memories
@@bevleighlange3312reading your comment makes my heart ache I lived in Mariston Hotel in recent times. It has been converted to a student accommodation.
People who consider themselves superior to others don't deserve to live in this planet. I mean I don't understand why are you making it about yourselves?
I always shared your same sentiment brother ! Buthelezi would have made the country prosper ! The Anc are and were always terrorists on a mission to destroy and eat power !
If South Africans stop talking negative defeatist shit all the time and get active and involved not only will you not cry for Sandton but you'll bring back Hillbrow too. Only Sandton of the future will be better than now because it will be as walkable as Hillbrow and there will be buses and light rail too, and Hillbrow will be better than it was in the past because it will have trees and gardens and won't be so fucking hideous like in this video.
The downtown part of Johannesburg is dated and stuck in time, what have the ANC been doing with all the tax money. How are you South Africans letting the country run to shit like this?
Anyone remember Bimbo's? Lekker Hillbrow, Cafe Wien. Went to the flicks then went for coffee and koek afterwards. Los Angeles now. But those were the days.
People who haven’t been evolved fully aren’t worrying about Western civilized structure and it’s my new details of neatness, cleanliness, and logical order. What I see is a return to the bush. The beautiful city was for another world long past……like human stalagmites begin to crumble when their creators have long left the scene. SA,s only real hope might be the Chinese. I State this with trepidation. The Chinese would simply erase it all and start over again. What’s worse? The memories had by the beautiful remnants of golden days, or the final solution that will be instilled by the conquering East? Sociologists had to’ve know and quietly warned their leaders that all this was not to be. The numbers were showing the population disparities in b-w population ratios and the natural resources running out. So why be there? The flight was started in the early 1970’s. I know this because many emigrated to Philadelphia PA at that time. Hillbrow was indeed lovely. I enjoy the old footage shown here on YT.
If you get involved and get active and join forces it will but not if you sit around and Moan and gripe like too many South Africans do. South Africans don't know what they've got but when they emigrate they find that the people in the new countries are run off their feet and dont have the leisure like they do in South Africa and the little leisure they have they don't want to spend it listening to a bunch of South Africans bellyache. They will tell you to shut the fuck up.
Can someone please tell me the name of the song and where I could find the English text ( and the name of the performer as well )? It’s awesome . BTW joburgh was an extraordinary place, don’ Get me wrong, as European I believe apartheid was not fair but way better then than now
And a rough English translation:- Old men sitting at street cafes, And watch all the people walk here and there, The bums shout out at the Wimpy Bar, And Fontana is open til late in the night Barefoot kids in the street Point out parking spaces And then hold out the hand, and then hold out the hand, And keep the hand open Ooo And give, give, give. Give, give, give Your cents, your dreams, your clothes full of holes, Give your heart to Hillbrow Give your heart to Hillbrow In Quartz Street I hear a girl calling to me, There's a Hare Krishna who asks what I look for And do I know Jesus ?, a man ask on his porch, Between Hillbrow Records and Estoril Books And it's long past midnight, And the Hillbrow Tower sends Its signals at night, its signals at night, Its signal for the junkies that wait Ooo And give, give, give. Give, give, give Your cents, your dreams, your future full of holes, Give your heart to Hillbrow, Yes, give your heart to Hillbrow. And the lights go on in the Chelsea Hotel, And voices and music sound in every apartment. We sit in the sun and drink wine, We survive with a hell of a lot of pain in this country, yes Let's drink to the one who survives his dreams, To the one who gets what he asks, yes And give, give, give. Give, give, give Your cents your dreams, your future full of holes, Give your heart to Hillbrow Yes, give your heart to Hillbrow, Come on, give your heart to Hillbrow
@@nikib2870 I'd say that I would actually prefer if I could have a white maid or gardener. Prefer my own people so that there wouldn't be such a divide between 'haves' and 'havenot's.' Also with unemployment so rife nowaday's, wouldn't it be fair to give white people a chance who want to work in domestic service a fair chance at gaining employment if that what they wanted to do? Gainful employment and a salary. Fair enough. Everyone needs it. Nowaday's not enough people of any creed or class have a job that pays for the bare basic's let alone the minimum wage to get by on for some people! Your comment made me think 🤔 and laugh 😂 at the same time! 😜
I we don't do introspection as African no one will save us from ourselves every where we dominate the place become hell with drugs crime and filthiness I heard a lot of people who knows Hillbrow before we take over look what it's look like today.
South Africa, a country in Africa where white people once lived. As soon as 2013 there might be more Chinese in South Africa than white people given the present rate at which white people are emigrating.
Hillbrow's past was vibrant, its present is gnarly, but it's future will be better than its past because it will actually have trees and gardens. This will take a while I know. But the consciousness of South Africans is coming together as one. They just need to stop talking negative shit all the time.
@@lawsonhellu4718 says the blind , it is called Seperate culture development ,idiot , do some studying before you make a fool out of yourself again in front of the world .
Ho bolelang hore khethollo ke ntho e nepahetseng e hlokang feela kutloisiso ka mahlakore a mabeli a merabe le litumellano tseo ho lumellanoang ka tsona le lipehelo..
Translation: "Which means that discrimination is the right thing to do, just need to be aware of both sides of the conflict and the terms and conditions agreed upon."
@@lehlohonolosetlai8236 Translation: "Guys, you say my thing right, my brother ... This is really the case." Tsohle tse molemo ho uena (ka thuso e nyane ho tsoa ho Mofetoleli oa Google) 😊
All thanks to the ANC . As I live in Berea just blocks away from Hillbrow I see the damage the foreigners have caused because they have no regard for a free world as they lived shit and restricted lives in Zim , Mozambique, Zambia, Tanzania and DRC to name a few. AND because the ANC has been misusing money meant to better the country after the apartheid era the CBDs and Townships of SA have become a shithole as the officials live in luxury (sandton , Houghton, fourways, midrand etc)
No the ANC destroyed Hilbrow. Instead of services and law and order with a working police force and army the choose to spend trillions on them selves. Education to get people jobs, now you have this.
High crime rate ruined Hillbrow.One year after Mandela was elected president , Hillbrow became the most dangerous place in the world .That time there were a few foreigners there .All criminals from SOWETO and Alexandra came to stay in Hilbrow , attacking people and businesses day and night .
@@isabelreinhold1476 That was a long time ago, maybe 20-25 years. You'll be lucky to spot a paleface there now. Hillbrow used to be a bit more of an affluent area. Changed to an area full of effluent now.
dit verbaas my dat die woorde is in Afrikaans. die waarheidt is, die Afrikaaners haat Hillbrow! Dis die plek van daardie uitlanders! gy my nie joe kak...it was the only place in the whole of South Africa that was open on a Sunday.
🤔Genuine concern: Where did all the white people from Hillbrow relocate to? Who provided shelter for so many white people who used to live in the city. Secondly, we can’t blame the ANC for Hillbrows downfall. White people left and the owners of the buildings abandoned their properties as well. Black South Africans stayed in the Townships and immigrants saw vacant buildings in Hillbrow and decideded to Hijack them🤷♂️ So who created the problem here?
Well said Rabbi but they dont want to hear that truth its so much easier to just blame everything on the ANC. life was only great in old SA for 10% of the population. F##k the old South Africa.
@@karabontseki617 Very true the old South Africa was great for the Europeans of South Africa, they were the only ones they enjoyed full political rights.
No the ANC destroyed Hilbrow. Instead of services and law and order with a working police force and army they choose to spend trillions on them selves. Education to get people jobs, now you have this. When a building gets hijacked who make sure that not to happen? Who needs to make sure the People have opportunities so they can have houses? Who made false promises to give everyone houses, that the government could not at all afford? None other that mr Nelson. How much did Ramaphosa pay for his last bull? Corruption first then they will feed people morsels. White people have skills to get there own accommodations, No white man in this country got a house for free. How many rdp houses are there???? Teach the people they don't have to work or get skills for anything?
@@colinarcher2817 so you wanted the government to declare state of emergency in Hillbrow juss because yt people decided to leave Hillbrow?!? Government can't be liable for your carelessness. The home owners were supposed to stay there or whoever the owner of the buildings is was supposed to employ security forces to guard their building. That is what landlords do.
The whole of south africa is going tge same way not 5 years ago barely had cars in our main street now its taxis and just blacks everywhere dam shame our country was stolen like this in fact its crimanal
