2Summers

I went on an amazing walking tour of the Jozi CBD yesterday, led by Gerlad Garner of Joburg Places. I’ll have a lot to say about this tour in a future post. For now, here are a couple of Instagrams.

Wide-angle shot of the Rissik Street Post Office, one of Joburg’s most historic buildings. I wrote more about the Post Office in my recent post on Hannelie Coetzee’s public art walkabout.

“Impala Stampede”, a famous sculpture outside the Anglo American headquarters on Main Street. You can read a bit about the story of this sculpture in an old post I wrote about Main Street. I’ll elaborate further in my next post.

Even though I’ve been around this area on many occasions, yesterday was my first time visiting the statue of Walter and Albertina Sisulu — two of South Africa’s most revered historical figures — at the intersection of Diagonal, Ntemi Poliso, and Market Streets. Again, I’ll explain further in the next post.

But I can’t wait until my next post to tell you about our stop at Chancellor House, at the corner of Gerard Sekoto and Fox Streets. From 1952 to 1960, Chancellor House was the site of South Africa’s first black law firm, run by Nelson Mandela and O.R. Tambo. Chancellor House was neglected and abandoned for decades but the Johannesburg Development Agency restored the building in 2011, turning it into a small museum. Read more about Chancellor House in this article by Joburg historian Jo Buitendach.

Anyway, we arrived at Chancellor House yesterday afternoon to find a large, statue-shaped object — about 15 feet tall, covered in a black tarp — erected across the street. Gerald didn’t even know the statue was there; he said it must have gone up just a day or two ago because he was in the area earlier in the week and didn’t see it.

Despite several efforts to uncover the secret, Gerald doesn’t know what exactly is under the tarp or when it will be revealed.

The mystery monument across from Chancellor House.

Public art intrigue. I love it. Expect a follow-up post when the mystery reveals itself.