Hillbrow Tower

Telkom Joburg Tower
Hillbrow Tower

Hillbrow Tower (right) with the Ponte Apartment building and the skyline of Hillbrow.
General information
Type Radio tower
Location Hillbrow, Johannesburg, South Africa
Coordinates
Construction started 1968[1]
Completed 1971[1]
Opening 1971[1]
Height
Antenna spire 269 m (883 ft)
Top floor 131 m (430 ft)
Design and construction
Owner Telkom (South Africa)[2]

The Hillbrow Tower is a tall tower located in the suburb of Hillbrow in Johannesburg, South Africa. At 269 m (883 ft), it has been the tallest structure and tower in Africa for 40 years, and it was also the tallest structure in the Southern Hemisphere until 1978, when surpassed by the 270m Mount Isa Chimney in Australia. Construction of the tower began in June 1968 and was completed three years later in April 1971. Construction cost 2 million Rand[1] (at the time, US$2.8 million). The tower was initially known as the JG Strijdom Tower after JG Strijdom, the South African Prime Minister from 1954 to 1958. On 31 May 2005 it was renamed the Telkom Jo'burg Tower.[3]

The tower was constructed for what became Telkom[4], South Africa's largest telecommunications company. As the general height of buildings rose in the central business district, it was necessary that the new telephone tower had to stay above the general height of the tallest building.

Contents

Tourist attraction

The Hillbrow Tower from a distance.  
The Hillbrow Tower decorated for the 2010 FIFA World Cup.  

The Hillbrow Tower has been closed to visitors since 1981 for security reasons. However, before the closure, the tower was one of the largest tourist draws in Johannesburg. At the top of the tower, above 131 metres, there were six public floors. One of them housed a revolving restaurant named Heinrich's Restaurant. There was another, non-rotating restaurant known as the Grill Room.

For the 2010 FIFA World Cup, a huge football was fitted to the tower.

There is another TV tower in Johannesburg, the Sentech Tower.

See also

References

  1. ^ a b c d Davie, Lucille (6 January 2004). "Hillbrow Tower - symbol of Joburg". http://www.southafrica.info/travel/cities/hillbrowtower.htm. Retrieved 23 November 2008. 
  2. ^ "Telkom lights up Jozi's night skyline". Telkom. 31 May 2005. http://www.telkom.co.za/common/aboutus/mediacentre/pressrelease/articles/article_789.html. Retrieved 23 November 2008. 
  3. ^ "Hillbrow Tower renamed". City of Johannesburg. http://joburgnews.co.za/2005/june/jun1_tower.stm. Retrieved 23 November 2008. 
  4. ^ JAMES BARBER, ANGELA FUNG, SANDEEP TOSHNIWAL, BECKY VOORHEIS, AND CAMPBELL R. HARVEY, [article_link "TELKOM, SOUTH AFRICA"], WINTER, 1999. Retrieved 2011/03/17.

External links

Media related to [//commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/Category:Radio_towers_in_Johannesburg Radio towers in Johannesburg] at Wikimedia Commons