A building marked by fire and death shows the decay of South Africa’s ‘city of gold’
Written by Black Hot Fire Network on September 3, 2023
JOHANNESBURG -- One of the few things that survived the fire and smoke that caused at least 76 horrific deaths in a rundown apartment block in Johannesburg is a circular plaque hanging on the brown brick exterior. It has a five-sentence inscription outlining the building's history.
No. 80 Albert Street - the scene of one of South Africa's worst inner-city tragedies - was a central pass office during the apartheid era of racial segregation, a checkpoint for enforcing a despised law that controlled . . .
