The Oriental Plaza, known locally as the Plaza is a large shopping centre and tourist attraction in

Fordsburg Fordsburg is a suburb of Johannesburg, South Africa. It is located in Region 8. Fordsburg is a residential suburb, although housing numerous shops and factories. Today, Fordsburg is a major centre of Indian and Pakistani culture, with a larg ...

, a suburb of

Johannesburg Johannesburg ( , , ; Zulu and xh, eGoli ), colloquially known as Jozi, Joburg, or "The City of Gold", is the largest city in South Africa, classified as a megacity, and is one of the 100 largest urban areas in the world. According to Dem ...

South Africa South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa (RSA), is the Southern Africa, southernmost country in Africa. It is bounded to the south by of coastline that stretch along the Atlantic Ocean, South Atlantic and Indian Oceans; to the ...

. Consisting of multiple connected malls, it was created for

Indian Indian or Indians may refer to: Peoples South Asia * Indian people, people of Indian nationality, or people who have an Indian ancestor ** Non-resident Indian, a citizen of India who has temporarily emigrated to another country * South Asia ...

traders who were forcibly removed from nearby

Fietas Pageview is a suburb of Johannesburg, South Africa. It is located in Region F of the City of Johannesburg Metropolitan Municipality. Populated by non-whites, predominantly Indians, until the 1970s, it was one of two adjacent suburbs (Pageview, ...

by the

apartheid Apartheid (, especially South African English: , ; , "aparthood") was a system of institutionalised racial segregation that existed in South Africa and South West Africa (now Namibia) from 1948 to the early 1990s. Apartheid was ...

government.

History

Fourteenth Street in Fietas was a thriving business node, with shops owned by Indian businessmen. However, the apartheid government insisted, against objections by officials of the Johannesburg City Council, that the area would be "white" under the

Group Areas Act Group Areas Act was the title of three acts of the Parliament of South Africa enacted under the apartheid government of South Africa. The acts assigned racial groups to different residential and business sections in urban areas in a system o ...

. Initially all traders were to be removed to

Lenasia Lenasia, often called Lenz, is a suburb south of Soweto in the Gauteng province, South Africa, originally created to house Indians. It is part of the City of Johannesburg Metropolitan Municipality. Lenasia is approximately 35 kilometres sout ...

, however, a plan was devised by the government's Department of Community Development, and the council, resulted in the development of the Oriental Plaza as a large shopping centre in Fordsburg. Development began in 1971, and it was completed in 1975, with the earliest merchants taking occupation in 1974. The compensation paid to Indian merchants who were evicted from businesses throughout Johannesburg was inadequate, however they were pressured into moving into the plaza. Café (convenience store) owners and general dealers were forced to create shops that sold goods which appealed to white customers, and to compete with merchants who were more experienced in selling those lines. Business was initially tightly controlled by the department, and shops were not allowed to merge. By the 1980s, restrictions eased, and owners were able to buy their premises.

Red Square Red Square ( rus, Красная площадь, Krasnaya ploshchad', ˈkrasnəjə ˈploɕːətʲ) is one of the oldest and largest squares in Moscow, the capital of Russia. Owing to its historical significance and the adjacent historical build ...

, a political meeting place in the 1940s and 1950s is now covered by Car Park 4 and the South Mall of the Oriental Plaza.

In popular culture

The Plaza features in the 2012 movie

Material Material is a substance or mixture of substances that constitutes an object. Materials can be pure or impure, living or non-living matter. Materials can be classified on the basis of their physical and chemical properties, or on their geologi ...

, starring Riaad Moosa.

Other shopping centres

There is an Oriental Plaza in Ferndale,

Randburg Randburg is an area located in the Gauteng province of South Africa. Formerly a separate municipality, its administration devolved to the newly created City of Johannesburg Metropolitan Municipality, along with neighbouring Sandton and Roodepoort, ...

. There is also complex of shops in

Marabastad Marabastad (also called Asiatic Bazaar or Location) is a business area near the city centre of Pretoria, South Africa. The original ''Maraba Village'', situated just to the south of the present Marabastad, was founded and ruled by the Ndebele C ...

Pretoria Pretoria () is South Africa's administrative capital, serving as the seat of the executive branch of government, and as the host to all foreign embassies to South Africa. Pretoria straddles the Apies River and extends eastward into the foot ...

(Asiatic Bazaar) that shares a similar history to the Oriental Plaza.

References

External links

* Tourist attractions in Johannesburg Shopping centres in Johannesburg {{Johannesburg-stub