Arts, Culture & Heritage
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Blue Plaque Sites

Pass Office 80 Albert Street

Table of Contents

Address

80 Albert Street, Corner Delvers Street, Marshallstown
2007

Inscription

The Central Pass Office was an infamous checkpoint of the influx control system under apartheid. The ÒDompasÓ which controlled the movement of the African people was issued here. Denied a place in the city, many were ordered to leave Johannesburg. This building opened in 1954 as the Non-European Affairs Department and was greatly enlarged in the 1960s. Converted into a womenÕs hostel in 1994, it was renamed the Usindiso WomenÕs Shelter.

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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