WHY IS TROYEVILLE  IMPORTANT?  

It is said that Troyeville is a last fragment of an authentic Johannesburg. Its survival was never planned or even considered. How its tenants, residents, architecture and streets escaped Herman Charles Bosman’s city denouement of “Every Johannesburg building turned over to a demolition gang the moment it becomes historical,” is a quandary and a delightful one at that.

Maybe it is its storylines which seep and spill into a myriad of diverse communities through a social osmosis of suspicions to trust which provides its vibrancy. Each day a revelation, observation and realisation. It is an inner city suburb where people walk.

Troyeville is one of the city’s oldest suburbs and through that the vast majority of its buildings and residences are protected by legislation for their historical value. Nourse Street is book ended by a 1905 nouveau architecture home on the east side, (at one time thought to be the Troyeville residence of Mahatma Gandhi) and a pair of late 19th century Brownstone houses on the west side. The street is widely regarded as containing the most diverse examples of architecture of any Johannesburg street. The junction of Nourse and Cornelia streets are one of the only surviving four corner shops in Johannesburg and remain the heart of the suburb.

When visitors first discover the suburbs lazy views from every street corner, they witness a moment of reflection and contemplation.

 

TROYEVILLE IN CONTEXT: RACE AND CLASS

Troyeville is one of the city’s ribs. Its ridge was where the burgeoning mining town situated its first fire station to warn of any conflagrations. It is an apt metaphor for 2010 and the social implications of it. Classes and cultures have washed over this ridge since Johannesburg was forged in the mayhem and lust of gold rush.

It is, by its very nature a transient city. Troyeville, in many ways has clung to traces and the remains of cultures and class. Its angled streets are not its only distinction which contributes to its draw.

During apartheid the suburbs lingua franca was Portuguese. The language and culture separating it from the majority white English and Afrikaans townships. Class is a defining factor of the neighbourhood. Since its inception it has always been a working class area. Under apartheid it was a working class “grey” area.

Its multicultural, multi class existence has increased since the demise of apartheid, with Mozambican, Nigeririans, Angolans, Egyptians and a host of other African nationals choosing to live. 

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