A tour of Northcliff’s most historic features
The Johannesburg Heritage Foundation took locals on a tour of some of the suburb’s most iconic homes.
Recently, the Johannesburg Heritage Foundation hosted a tour up the Northcliff Ridge. On the tour, expert guides Brian McKechnie and Jo Buitendach lead a group of inquisitive locals on an educational walk through Northcliff.
The tour saw architect Brain McKechnie share some architectural and historical facts of the various homes found en route. A lovely accompaniment to tour were the lovely jacaranda lined streets.
The guides had a wealth of knowledge they willingly shared, here are some of them:
Fredrick Drive:
This road was not built by the municipality; it was instead built by Fred Cohen’s workmen. While Northcliff was still in its development stage, Cohen, who lived in Westcliff, would look at his workmen construct this road. These workmen had the skills needed to develop mountainous areas like Northcliff. One of the methods they used saw them encase massive boulders with cow dung and then set it alight over the evening so that it would smoulder throughout the night. In the morning, water was poured over it and it would fall to pieces. This is how they built Northcliff.
The Fred Cohen Home:
There is no way you could travel Fredrick Drive and not notice the big baby blue house. Its architect was MJ Harris and the road it is found along is named after Northcliff’s founder, Fred Cohen. The house features a huge ballroom hall that even has an orchestra pit. This ballroom is said to be able to accommodate 200 guests and it can host another 50 in its gallery. Years ago movies were filmed there. As a child, Fred was not quite academic but he made up for it through being quiet enterprising.
In his teens he worked for The Star newspaper, having a stand at Park Station. There he met wealthy people from all walks of life and was introduced to the shipping industry. This would be where he made his riches and got wealthy quickly. He developed an interest in Northcliff as he would look at the area from his Westcliff home. He would later buy the land from a Linden fruit farmer for about £500. He would later also develop Northcliff Primary as well as Randpark Golf Course. A few roads in the area belong to the family, Lilly Avenue, named after his wife and other roads such as Hearn Drive and Hillel Avenue are connected to his family.
Helen Suzman’s former home:
The South African anti-apartheid activist and politician also had a beautiful home in Northcliff. The house she lived in before moving to Houghton was designed by Wilhem Pabst. The Suzman family does not live there anymore.
NG Kerk Aasvoëlkop:
Found on Lawley Avenue, the church is midcentury structure, built in the early 60s. It is still original in its structure and it was at this church that Beyers Naudé did a sermon in which he denounced apartheid. The pulpit is still the original pulpit he said the moving sermon from.
House Jockl:
This house, built in 1935 and also found on Fredrick Drive, is down a pan-handle and is also a Wilhem Pabst design. Dr Jockl was the brother-in-law of Fred Cohen.
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