Saturday, July 29, 2006
The Carlton Hotel
ONCE the Carlton Hotel was a rich status symbol for Johannesburg; an internationally renowned establishment where the moneyed and the famous wined, dined and slept in style. The five-star hotel - in an upside-down Y-shape that abutted the lofty Carlton Centre, South Africa's tallest building - was always a proud reminder to Joburgers that their hospitality was among the best in the world.
Henry Kissinger, Francois Mitterand, Hilary Clinton, Margaret Thatcher, Whitney Houston and Mick Jagger were among the hotel's guests during its 25-year history.
The 600-room hotel, which took seven years to build, opened in 1972 - and closed in 1997 -- because it became too dangerous for people to stay there, attacked as they were if they dared venture out into the surrounding streets.
Today it stands empty, a slowly crumbling and deserted ruin, stripped of its finishings, symbolic of the New South Africa, just waiting to die....
The outside entrance to the Carlton Hotel: barricaded off to try and stop squatters from occupying the building, as has happened to so many other high rises in the city...
Astonishing to think this building, which once hosted banquets, the world famous Three Ships restaurant, world personalities, is today totally empty. It is the second highest building in Johannesburg...
Wow.... amazing.. banana republic is well on its way.... ain't it??? Scary shit!
ReplyDeleteThis is sad! Very sad! And I am black African. You do have your points. I feel some shame as an black man when I think of how we seem to destroy rather than build. But you are wrong about your generalisations about "blackness". You seem to be filled with so much anger and hatred. I don't want to be too defensive but what you see in Johannesburg is a product of poverty in action as a result of previous abandonment by the former rulers on the one hand and irrational fear from the previously priviledged thus the rampant abandonment of these structures on the other. I guess one can't be too simplistic about one 's reasons and I agree that you have spoken the truth to some extent, yet, your blog is full of fallacies such as "black racism" and "white genocide". There is no agenda to wipe out whites. It's all about ignorance, backwardness, and poverty. White South Africa should have taken black South Africa along on a path of co-development, joint growth and a share in the commonwealth. Now, that would have been an incredible journey together. The result could have been different from what we see today. An empowered Black South Africa would today be a strong partner for future growth. South Africa could have been the greatest country on earth. Still, this is totally heartbreaking to see. Nothing justifies this utter decay. I weep with you!
ReplyDeleteI would agree, with our black african friend here, and I am a white South African. There is one thing that in your blog here you have forgot to mention that in South Africa, and Johannesburg there is such a wide gap between those with wealth, and mostly now found in the north (Sandton) to thos who have very little in this world. In SA today it is not longer a black and white divide, but far more a class divide. The ANC goverment has failed to deal with crime, and poverty, and untill the day when someone comes along and takes the risk to deal with this. I am afraid we will still see things like this. However I am a proud to be South African, and I feel we should all unite as one to make this a better country for all who live in it.
ReplyDeleteI WOULD LIKE TO RESTORE IT
ReplyDeleteI worked at the Carlton, and I paid into a pension. Does anyone recall what the name of the pension was?? Thanks
ReplyDeleteJudy Wilson 1976-1977
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