Joburg's turret tilts a new way

On the corner of Marshall and Loveday streets in the beating heart of Johannesburg stands a lone constructed finger. It stretches skyward, as if trying to tickle a cloud, but, unlike the surrounding buildings, gives up after about three storeys.

The grapevine would have you believe that this lonely pinky finger of bricks and mortar was once the Indian political leader Mahatma Gandhi's Johannesburg office, but sadly the grapevine is misguided. Nonetheless, The Turret has an interesting history and it is one which its current tenant, Gerald Garner, is only too happy to share.

According to Garner, The Turret was built in 1906 for an engineering company. At the time it was much grander and was part of an entire body of structures that filled the now vacant parking lot behind it.

Later it housed a number of multinationals before they fell prey to the whims of economic recession and parking demands.

As the city centre fell into decay, all that remained of the complex was a single three-storey cylindrical turret.

Happily it would seem all is not lost for both The Turret and the city centre. Garner recently rented the place with dreams of converting it into a tourism bureau where foreigners and natives can discover more about the city.

His office is in many ways like the city he loves. When you walk into it, you can almost hear the building's history walking through it. The ageing doors give the impression that a would-be fireman could live his dream of rescuing a distressed damsel with one swift kick. The staircase sings rather than creaks.

However, like the city, the building is in the process of a rebirth. The intoxicating fumes of the new paint punches through the air and makes you wonder how The Turret's new inhabitants - Garner and his co-worker - don't feel like they are in a druggie Pink Floyd video.

Garner assures me that once the tourism office is up and running the building will look old but feel new.

In the meantime he's keeping himself busy with his second edition of Spaces & Places 2.0 - Joburg Places, a guide to the city.

In this edition, Garner focuses on the CBD. It is a comprehensive guide to just about every and any interesting thing to do in downtown Johannesburg. From art galleries to bars in old bank vaults, it is difficult to be bored living in or visiting the revitalised city centre.

For those with a crime phobia, Garner has provided a map with safe night-walking routes marked out and, if there is one person who would know where it is and isn't safe to walk, it is Garner.

When not busy compiling a list of the CBD's trendiest spots, Garner leads guided walking tours through the city. They range from around two hours to six hours, depending on the tour, and can take you from the streets of Newtown to the heart of Little Addis, the Ethiopian quarter. The tour through the fashion district is highly recommended by Garner.

It looks like the good old Hillbrow days may have just moved down the road.

• Tour details, including routes can be found on www.joburgplaces.com