My First Visit
I remember in the 1980s hearing the equivalent saying of it being easier to buy gold than to get space at the Carlton Centre. The Carlton Centre in the 1970s, 80s and very early 90s was the place to be for the rich and famous of all races. It is 50 stories high comprising both office and retail space. Alongside this structure was the famous Carlton Hotel.
I remember in the 1980s hearing the equivalent saying of it being easier to buy gold than to get space at the Carlton Centre. The Carlton Centre in the 1970s, 80s and very early 90s was the place to be for the rich and famous of all races. It is 50 stories high comprising both office and retail space. Alongside this structure was the famous Carlton Hotel.
This hotel is about 20-30 stories high and during the apartheid era was the probably the first choice of stay for most political leaders and celebrities. In this regard , I have heard of the likes of Hillary Clinton, Margaret Thatcher and Henry Kissinger staying here. My first visit to Johannesburg took place in 1992 and the Carlton Centre was one of our first ports of call. We first went to the viewing deck on the 50th floor and was taken aback by the sheer size of the city, "Joburg must be 100 times bigger than Pietermaritzburg I thought "but also "Mum the cars look like toys from here". We then spent time visiting all the shops, seeing expensive name brands that I never saw in my life( We were more used to wearing Wrangler Jeans and Northtsars)and seeing how the rich and famous dressed (It was the first time I had actually seen a person wear a fur coat), walked and talked. I also remember the centre being packed with people, mainly whites but also a handful of Indians and Blacks. We completed our visit by having a cup of coffee at the KoffieHuis Restaurant at the Carlton Hotel. I remember how smart the people working at the hotel looked with big hats who opened the door for you (We entered via an entrace to the Hotel in the shopping area), the beauty of the foyer and then asked my mum "Does JR Ewing stay here". I remember my dad asking the receptionist about the cost of the room, and his facial expression was one off "we would need to sell our car to stay here". Since this visit, we heard that the Johannesburg CBD has gone through some changes. There was a huge exodus of businesses from the CBD towards Sandton and the city entered into a period of Urban Decay. The Carlton Centre was owned by Anglo American who subsequently sold it for a song to Transnet and the Carlton Hotel closed down and its structure mothballed.
Fast Forward 2014
The next time I stepped into the Carlton Centre was today after a period of more than 22 years. Prior to coming many of my family and friends thought we were nuts. "Who goes there these days, you looking to get robbed, theres nothing to do there, I would never take my family there". Nonetheless, yearning for some adventre we went. I drove into the parking lot, found it easy to find parking and entered the centre via the foodcourt. I think it was more psychological but we entered the centre with a little sense of fear that if we came in, we were going to be robbed but one could easily see a high presence of security guards and our fears quickly dissipated. The Carlton looks structurally the same as when I last visited. The grey tiles were still there but one could easily see that the look and feel of the centre was a bit rundown compared to its hey day. I saw most name branded shops that you would find in other major shopping centres but what could easily be noticed, there were no rich and famous people, there were no fur coats and also saw that many shops were empty ie vacant. I guess its now easier to get a place here than to buy gold. We then asked the first security official to lead us to the viewing deck area. Entrance was R 15 for adults and R 7 for children and we were also informed that it closes at 7 pm, enough time to get a view of the sunset. We then went up a really fast elevator making you a bit dizzy until we reached the top. The view is still as amazing as it was in 1992. You can have a 360 degree view of the city and just as I remembered the cars still looked like toys. Besides the breathtaking 360 view of the city, there is a bar serving drinks and also saw some shops which had some stock in in it(none were open though when we visited). I also saw a lot of tourists from other countries visiting and as many locals. I would really like to see it at night. I am certain the view with the city lights on will be awesome. I would also presume that this has the potential of being a good 1st Date spot or maybe a place you propose to fiance preferably at night. After coming down I then decided to take a trip down memory lane towards the entrance of the hotel. The entrance to the Hotel via the mall is barricaded and one can only see a lone security guard inside. It was really sad to see a place where royalty once stayed look so sad and dilapidated.
Overall Feelings
The view from the Carlton cannot be matched to any other spot in Johannesburg, if you havent seen it, I really think you should. You will see the whole of Africa from there. Will you get killed in there, I dont think so. I felt safe and secure. Will I go there again? Mmmm. I would like to see it at night but, since there is no smart hotel to have a cup of coffee, nothing to buy that I cant get at shopping malls closer to my home, my answer would be, unless I have guests from out of town and want to show them the view or something really unique becomes a feature of the centre, see you in another 20 years Carlton Centre.
The next time I stepped into the Carlton Centre was today after a period of more than 22 years. Prior to coming many of my family and friends thought we were nuts. "Who goes there these days, you looking to get robbed, theres nothing to do there, I would never take my family there". Nonetheless, yearning for some adventre we went. I drove into the parking lot, found it easy to find parking and entered the centre via the foodcourt. I think it was more psychological but we entered the centre with a little sense of fear that if we came in, we were going to be robbed but one could easily see a high presence of security guards and our fears quickly dissipated. The Carlton looks structurally the same as when I last visited. The grey tiles were still there but one could easily see that the look and feel of the centre was a bit rundown compared to its hey day. I saw most name branded shops that you would find in other major shopping centres but what could easily be noticed, there were no rich and famous people, there were no fur coats and also saw that many shops were empty ie vacant. I guess its now easier to get a place here than to buy gold. We then asked the first security official to lead us to the viewing deck area. Entrance was R 15 for adults and R 7 for children and we were also informed that it closes at 7 pm, enough time to get a view of the sunset. We then went up a really fast elevator making you a bit dizzy until we reached the top. The view is still as amazing as it was in 1992. You can have a 360 degree view of the city and just as I remembered the cars still looked like toys. Besides the breathtaking 360 view of the city, there is a bar serving drinks and also saw some shops which had some stock in in it(none were open though when we visited). I also saw a lot of tourists from other countries visiting and as many locals. I would really like to see it at night. I am certain the view with the city lights on will be awesome. I would also presume that this has the potential of being a good 1st Date spot or maybe a place you propose to fiance preferably at night. After coming down I then decided to take a trip down memory lane towards the entrance of the hotel. The entrance to the Hotel via the mall is barricaded and one can only see a lone security guard inside. It was really sad to see a place where royalty once stayed look so sad and dilapidated.
Overall Feelings
The view from the Carlton cannot be matched to any other spot in Johannesburg, if you havent seen it, I really think you should. You will see the whole of Africa from there. Will you get killed in there, I dont think so. I felt safe and secure. Will I go there again? Mmmm. I would like to see it at night but, since there is no smart hotel to have a cup of coffee, nothing to buy that I cant get at shopping malls closer to my home, my answer would be, unless I have guests from out of town and want to show them the view or something really unique becomes a feature of the centre, see you in another 20 years Carlton Centre.