The Mary Fitzgerald Square in Newtown, Johannesburg in

South Africa South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa (RSA), is the Southern Africa, southernmost country in Africa. Its Provinces of South Africa, nine provinces are bounded to the south by of coastline that stretches along the Atlantic O ...

is a public space named after Mary "Pickhandle" Fitzgerald, who is considered to have been the first female trade unionist in the country. Previously known as Aaron's Ground, the square was named for Fitzgerald in 1939 as it was an often-used location for strikers' meetings in the early part of the 20th century. The square features lighting designed by French lighting engineer Patrick Rimoux and an installation of carved wooden heads. The square is the centerpiece of the Newtown

urban renewal Urban renewal (sometimes called urban regeneration in the United Kingdom and urban redevelopment in the United States) is a program of land redevelopment often used to address real or perceived urban decay. Urban renewal involves the clearing ...

project and is surrounded by structures significant to the city, including the Market Theatre — which played host to much of the 1980s 'struggle theatre' opposing the apartheid regime's discriminatory policies;

MuseuMAfricA Museum Africa or MuseuMAfricA (formerly known as the Africana Museum) is a historical museum in Newtown, Johannesburg, South Africa. History The museum was established in 1933, when the Johannesburg Public Library bought a large quantity of A ...

; the old Turbine Hall, and the Worker's Library. On 2 July 2005, Mary Fitzgerald Square hosted the Johannesburg leg of the Live 8 series of concerts organised by Bob Geldof. Since 2012, In The City has been hosted in the square on the first Friday of every October.

References

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