History

Introduction

The Carlton Centre is a skyscraper and shopping centre located in downtown Johannesburg, South Africa. At 223 metres (731 feet), it is the tallest office tower in Africa and about half the height of the Sears Tower in Chicago.

Anglo American Properties began construction in the late 1960s with the demolition of the old Carlton Hotel and the closure of roads to form a city superblock. Massive excavation works saw a crater formed, where pilings were driven into the ground to support the new structure. The building was officially opened in 1973, around the same time as the Sears Tower and some two years after the opening of the World Trade Center. Its construction gave further impetus to the nickname that was given to Johannesburg: "the New York of Africa."

The Carlton Centre was designed by high-profile US architectural firm Skidmore, Owings and Merrill. It has 50 stories, including a viewing deck on the 50th floor, which affords views of the whole city and Pretoria. The building is the head office of transport parastatal Transnet, which has owned the complex since 1999.