Anstey’s was once the tallest residential building in Africa and remains the pinnacle of art deco in Johannesburg. It has seen the various transformations of the inner city: from a fashionable and abundant era of glamorous shop fronts and teahouses, through tense periods of shabbiness and decay, to heady times of mixed cultural influences. Now, artists, families of modest means, tailors, photographers, sculptors, trade unionists and street traders live alongside one another in this space. Writer Tanya Zack and photographer Mark Lewis take us inside Anstey’s to share with us the anecdotes, the memories, the views, the objects and the connections that make this so much more than just ‘home’ in the inner city. Fourth Wall Books
Book 6 of Wake Up, This is Joburg By Mark Lewis and Tanya Zack
