Arts, Culture & Heritage
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Blue Plaque Sites

Phoenix Place

Table of Contents

About Phoenix Place

Developed by the Johannesburg Heritage Foundation in consultation with the City of Joburg

Address

Phoenix place, 7 Park Lane, Parktown.
December 2018

Inscription

PHOENIX PLACE (formerly Hyde Park Mansions) Designed in 1929 as upmarket flats by P. Hill Mitchelson, they were bought in 1963 by Dr Jack Penn who commissioned the new wing. The architect, Rusty Bernstein, was also the compiler of the Freedom Charter. Penn lived on the top floor, while the remaining units housed nursing staff from the Brenthurst Clinic. A reconstructive surgeon, PennÕs autobiography ÒThe right to look humanÓ expressed his dedication. He renamed the building after the mythical bird which is the symbol of plastic surgery.

Photo courtesy: Kabelo Mokoena (Sunday Times)

Explore Joburg

A culmination of research gathered over many years, the Online Johannesburg Heritage Register is being launched on Nelson Mandela Day 18 July 2025.

Among the many heritage sites featured is Chancellor House, the downtown offices of Mandela and Tambo Attorneys in the 1950s. After having been vacant and shuttered for more than a decade, this iconic building is being revived and brought to life once again as offices for the Community Development Department, which oversees the City’s Arts, Culture & Heritage Services.

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