*Insert mom or dad voice here*
“When I was young, Hillbrow was our playground.”
Growing up, most South African children living in the suburbs and in the towns near Johannesburg would have heard this from their mom or dad when the topic came up while standing around a braai.
“You wouldn’t want to go there now though.”
They would add.
Hillbrow, and the toilet roll holder-looking building that is Ponte Tower (originally built for larney inner-city living), became a no-go zone for suburban middle and upper class people.
This came after the Apartheid government labelled it a ‘grey area’ and turned off the metaphorical economic taps to this once flourishing cosmopolitan city area where people of all races were intermingling in the 1970s/80s.
During the late 1980s, gang activity had caused the crime rate to soar at the tower and the surrounding neighbourhoods.
By the 1990s, many dodgy characters moved into the building and it became terribly unsafe.
Following that you avoided Hillbrow like you do phone calls from insurance companies that try to get you to take out a new policy (helpful hint: download the Truecaller app onto your phone).
When someone just uttered the words ‘Hillbrow’ or ‘Ponte Tower’ your undies would go a shade browner than usual.
Chills would run down your spine and you would behave and quiver like those three hyenas from Lion King when they heard the name of ‘Mufasa’.
It was justified fear for a while.
Gangsterism, prostitution, drug dealing and other naughty things were rampant in the streets and buildings of Hillbrow and within the walls of Ponte City.
You would admire this impressive structure, as well the Hillbrow Tower (now Telkom Tower), of the Joburg skyline from afar, but you would never actually have the coconuts to go there.
The cylindrical tower that is Ponte became the poster-child of all that is wrong with a decaying city centre and soon it became the first vertical urban slum on the African continent.
Some of the stories told about Ponte were almost movie-like.
Tales of a 15-storey high pile of discarded filth in the cylindrical centre (confirmed true) and people committing suicide by diving from the top floors into the centre (unconfirmed) gave peeps a lot to think and talk about.
Things, however, are slowly on the way up (quite literally like Ponte’s stairways).
There are some optimistic, open-minded and determined people trying to rejuvenate the place – and they’re not doing a bad job at it either.
German writer Norman Ohler used Ponte as the setting for his book Stadt des Goldes (‘City of Gold’):
“Ponte sums up all the hope, all the wrong ideas of modernism, all the decay, all the craziness of the city. It is a symbolic building, a sort of white whale, it is concrete fear, the tower of Babel, and yet it is strangely beautiful.”
Strangely beautiful, indeed, Mr German Writer Dude.
This is where I come in…
I was messing about on Facebook when I first read about the ‘Ponte City Challenge’, a challenge to those who think they are fit enough (or mad enough) to run up the stairs from the very bottom of Ponte Tower to the 54th floor at the pinnacle of the building.
“Are you fit enough to beat our record time running up 900-plus stairs to the 54th floor of Ponte City?” the Facebook event page dared.
As a history nut, I have always been fascinated about Ponte’s past and simply had to see it for myself and add to my own history of doing weird and wonderful things.
Never one to back down from a challenge I rallied my girlfriend Ashton (aka Ash), running partner Darryn (aka Dazz) and his significant other Lauren (aka La) together to take on this unique task.
I had just recently finished the Comrades Marathon, so surely some 900-odd steps would be a walk in the park (or, uh, tower).
READ about LG’s Comrades journey here:
SUNDAY READ: Things I learned at Comrades (by a guy who actually ran the Comrades)
Dazz was nursing a massive hangover from the fun and games of a birthday party the night before so I wrote off his chance of beating me up the stairs (healthy competition and all that jazz).
We arrived at Ponte City Apartments early that Sunday morning slightly concerned where we would park.
We were directed to a safe parking lot by a security guard at the gate who informed us that a guide would meet us and take us to the Dlala Nje Community Centre for registration.
What is Dlala Nje, Logie G?
They’re the people trying to make inner-city Joburg a tourist attraction.
According to their website, Dlala Nje was founded in October 2012 and, in a nutshell, aims to challenge perceptions and to create opportunities through running inner-city immersions and experiences in some of Joburg’s most misunderstood areas. These immersions and walks have allowed to build and run a community center aimed at providing a safe learning environment for children and youth.
From the community centre, we got our race numbers and headed down to the lowest parking level where our stair-climb would begin.
We were introduced to our guide, Franck Leya who explained that we would be running up the stairs in batches of 10.
When we got going, I was determined to reach the 54th floor (1.1km going up) in under 10 minutes, which I did in nine minutes and 45 seconds (booya!).
The record was smashed that morning by a young man who ran up the flights of stairs in an incredible five minutes and 27 seconds (whoa!).
Like I always tend to do, I went out the starting blocks way too quickly and, by halfway, was panting like a dog let loose in the Benoni Bunny Park.
My quads, feet and knees were burning like hell and eventually I just had to walk the remaining flights.
Babalas Dazz and the lovely Ash followed some three minutes after me.
Dazz then went back down the stairs to find his beloved fiancée La while Ash and I met on the 51st floor at 5101, a resident/cafe with a panoramic view of Johannesburg, where we had a chilled breakfast.
Lauren had gone off the beaten track while climbing the stairs and stumbled into some random penthouse where a lady was doing some cleaning.
Without any skaam La asked the lady if she could give her a tour of the place.
The kind dame happily obliged and showed her an incredible apartment with modern finishes and a sublime panoramic view of Johannesburg, leaving Lauren mightily impressed.
Soon, the four of us were reunited at 5101 and took in the magnificent scenes of Jozi from above.
I had a quick interview with SABC News (they happened to be there) and then had a chat with Franck, our guide for Caxton Radio Benoni before we departed.
LISTEN to that interview here:
https://soundcloud.com/benoni-city-times/logie-g-does-the-ponte-city-challenge
To me, Ponte Tower and it’s rejuvenation is a metaphor of life.
You can go through the highs, you can go through the lows, but you can always come out stronger than before with the right people at your side.
I would like to see similar things happen to some of the old buildings in Benoni and on the East Rand, although it might be something of a pipe dream.
For example, would it not be awesome if Chimes Tavern (the oldest pub and hotel in Benoni) could be returned to its former ways with a bit of TLC, a fresh coat of paint and a bit of funding?
With a few passionate and determined individuals behind it, we could taken the Benoni CBD and other East Rand town CBDs back to their glory days.
It just needs to start from somewhere, from a small idea and/or spark.
People like the Litter Bugs, Benoni’s clean-up team, who regularly pick up litter on the streets of Farrarmere, are examples of people doing something small yet massively huge and important in the long term.
Another thing I learned from Ponte is to try things for yourself.
Use your own will and initiative instead of relying on the perceptions of others.
You could miss out on something beautiful and maybe have a life-changing experience while you are at it.
Remember: “The climb may be tough, but the view from the top is always better”.
LG
* Please note that this is an opinion piece and that the views expressed here do not necessarily reflect the views of the Benoni City Times or Caxton Newspapers.
Check out some other blogs from this writer:
LG’s A to Z of a South African road trip
LG’s Blog: Things I’m learning while learning to run really far, like really, really, really far
LG’s Blog: Cough, cough… Comrades is around the corner (I just died)
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