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Johannesburg City Library

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59-476: The Johannesburg City Library is situated in the central business district of the City of Johannesburg . The Library is located in an Italianate building designed by John Perry which first opened in 1935. It has over 1.5-million books and items in its collection and more than 250 000 members. In 1889, a group of prominent Johannesburg residents met to discuss the formation of a public library and eventually formed

118-452: A committee to raise funds, find a building and order the books. With the books ordered from London, the library opened in June 1890 with the committee members serving as librarians but by February 1891, the library obtained its first librarian, Robert C Hemming. It started as a subscription library, its members paying a subscription to use the facilities. In 1894, the library received a grant from

177-674: A grand civic reception for 2,000 guests was given in his honour. They went on to have two children, Cecil and Iris Michaelis. In 1913 he had presented a collection of Dutch and Flemish old masters to the Union government, a gift leading to his being knighted. These formed the basis of the Michaelis Collection and were housed in the Old Town House in Cape Town. The decision to house the collection in Cape Town, came in for

236-618: A great deal of criticism – public sentiment at the time was that the money had originated from the Reef gold mines and that the collection belonged in Johannesburg. Besides, a lot of the works were regarded as being of indifferent quality ( Portrait of a Woman by Frans Hals being the cynosure of the collection) and there was at least one painting of questionable attribution. These works had been collected by Lady Phillips (wife of Sir Lionel Phillips , Bt) and Sir Hugh Lane . In June 1920 at

295-722: A lifetime. He was co-opted by Wernher to deal in diamonds for Porges and Wernher, and in the 1880s restructured the Cape Diamond Company. He was a founding partner of Wernher, Beit & Co. Within some years he had become manager of the Central Mining and Investment Corporation in Johannesburg . From 1896 he worked at the corporation's offices in London and remained there until 1919, when he returned to South Africa. In England he led an extremely secluded life on

354-618: A massive and imposing triple-arch, east-facing entrance with metal doors featuring monograms reading "LJ" and "BJ" for the English "Library of Johannesburg" and the Afrikaans "Biblioteek Johannesburg". The northern and southern facades are decorated with stone medallions each carved by Peter Kirchhoff with the face of a great literary, scientific, or philosophical figure. Larger figures designed by Moses Kottler, representing literature, music, architecture, medicine, philosophy, and history surround

413-700: A newly built business district near the Potsdamer Platz . The city's historic center (home to the Reichstag building , as well as the Brandenburg Gate and most federal ministries) was largely abandoned when the Berlin Wall cut through the area. Only after the reunification with the redevelopment of Potsdamer Platz , and the construction of numerous shopping centers, government ministries, embassies, office buildings and entertainment venues,

472-599: A single urban area. The CBD will often be highly accessible and have a large variety and concentration of specialised goods and services compared to other parts of the city. Midtown Manhattan is the largest central business district in New York City and in the United States. In Chicago , the Chicago Loop is the second-largest central business district in the United States. It is also referred to as

531-534: A whole. Singapore's CBD is the historic heart of the city-state, which makes it a mix of a tourist attraction and a business center. The CBD includes several multinational corporate headquarters, Singapore Management University , and historical buildings and museums. As of 2016, the Singaporean government intends to redevelop Jurong East into a second CBD in Singapore. The area has also been earmarked as

590-635: Is Government Hill , the site of the old government headquarters. As the Hong Kong SAR Government Headquarters moved to Tamar, Admiralty, the nearby area is also considered part of the CBD. In Quarry Bay , Taikoo Place and areas nearby, including Admiralty , Wan Chai and Causeway Bay , and Tsim Sha Tsui , Kwun Tong , and Kowloon Bay are regarded as major business districts of Hong Kong. India 's capital New Delhi has been known for its CBD at Connaught Place . For

649-922: Is a concentration of business in Botafogo harbor and in Barra da Tijuca , a newer Rio de Janeiro suburb located in city's west region. The largest CBD in Colombia is Bogotá 's Centro Internacional , where some of the tallest buildings in South America have been repurposed as national headquarters for Scotiabank Colpatria , Davivienda , and Bancolombia , among others. Over the years, Bogotá has developed minor business districts, which include Avenida Chile , Ciudad Salitre , with companies like Avianca , Rappi , Johnson & Johnson , Terpel , Hilton , Hyatt , Marriott , Sheraton , Ramada , City Express , Aloft and Novotel ; or Complejo Santa Bárbara ,

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708-540: Is also one of the most important business districts of Pakistan. Gulberg, Lahore has a large number of important office buildings as well as many high-rises and shopping malls. Pakistan established its first central business district, Lahore Central Business District, also known as Central Business District Punjab (CBD Punjab) by an ACT of Parliament (LCBDDA Act, 2021) in February 2021. Jinnah Avenue in Islamabad

767-571: Is based on a collection of 2,300 volumes and books purchased in 1913 from the estate of Harold Fairbrother Strange consisting of books on Africa south of the Zambezi and was expanded upon over the years. In addition to the main lending library there is also a number of specialist libraries: The Johannesburg City Library is open on Mondays to Fridays, from 9   am to 5   pm, and on Saturdays from 9   am to 1   pm. Central business district A central business district ( CBD )

826-433: Is the commercial and business center of a city. It contains commercial space and offices, and in larger cities will often be described as a financial district . Geographically, it often coincides with the " city centre " or " downtown ". However, these concepts are not necessarily synonymous: many cities have a central business district located away from its traditional city center, and there may be multiple CBDs within

885-680: Is the first of its kind in Indonesia, and one of the largest commercial center developments in the city. Jakarta started developing its business district in the early 1960s before hosting the Asian Games in 1962 . Surabaya in East Java built its first central business district in the Darmo region. The construction was expected to be completed by 2018 with 150 SOHO units and 500 residences. In Italy , business districts do not coincide with

944-470: Is the main business district of the city. Blue Area is the central business district of Islamabad . D Ground is the central business district of Faisalabad and Saddar is the main central business district of Rawalpindi . In Peru , the central business district is San Isidro , in Lima , which hosts the majority of Peru's financial industry headquarters. Although still a largely residential district,

1003-669: The COEX mall, are major thoroughfares in Seoul. The tallest buildings in Gangnam include Tower Palace One , a residential complex, Trade Tower , Gangnam Finance Center, and Parnas Tower. Seoul's third business district is Yeouido , an island located in central Seoul in the Yeongdeungpo District . Yeouido was developed in the 1970s; since the 1990s, however, it has become Seoul's financial center. Smaller in geographic size that

1062-680: The Carnegie Corporation of New York of $ 2-million, and the City of Johannesburg itself spent a further R55-million on the project. The building is an Italianate structure sitting across the road from the ANC's Luthuli House . The construction of the Johannesburg Public Library took place between 1931 and 1935 and was the result of an architectural competition won by Cape Town architect John Perry. The building features

1121-620: The South African Republic government of £250 though two-thirds of the donation was to be spent on Dutch books though the library was kept funded by means of balls, lectures and donations from the Randlords . The first library was a corrugated iron structure built in 1893 known as the Old Church Building. In 1898, a new structure on Kerk Street was built for the library consisting of three floors with shops on

1180-737: The 555-metre tall Lotte World Tower , Guro Digital Complex, Gasan Digital Complex, the Magok Business District, the Sangam Digital Media City, the Munjeong Administrative Town, and Mapo Avenue. The area near Yongsan Station , including the proposed Yongsan International Business District , is considered an emerging major commercial district that will exist in synergy with nearby Yeouido . Max Michaelis Sir Maximillian Michaelis , KCMG (11 May 1852 – 26 January 1932)

1239-571: The CBD. An example is Parramatta , which is considered the financial hub of Western Sydney . São Paulo is a multipolar city, with several business districts. Avenida Faria Lima and the neighboring districts, Itaim Bibi and Vila Olímpia , now concentrate a large part of the financial activities in São Paulo and Brazil . Avenida Paulista and nearby streets is a well-established financial center that has several banking offices and corporate headquarters, as well as hospitals. Its Historic Center

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1298-874: The Philippines. In Poland , the terms śródmieście or centrum are often used to describe the central business district. The largest central business district in Russia is the Moscow International Business Center (MIBC) in Moscow , a commercial development located just east of the Third Ring Road at the western edge of the Presnensky District in the Central Administrative Okrug of

1357-537: The building. The building is stone with a terracotta tiled roof. It originally surrounded an atrium, but during the 2009–2012 renovations, a new building was built to fill the atrium with three floors. The library collection consists of about 1.5 million items of some 700,000 books and includes DVDs, CDs, sheet music and periodicals. With the new construction work, the library's size has increased by 1,967m² from 11,198m² and now can accommodate 566 people as opposed to 255 people originally. A new coffee shop has been built and

1416-575: The central business district. These terms can be literally translated as " inner city " and "city center". Some of the larger cities have more than one central business district. For example, Berlin alone has three. Due to Berlin's history of division during the Cold War , the city contains central business districts both in West ( Kurfürstendamm ) and in East Berlin ( Alexanderplatz ), as well as

1475-605: The city's CBD. In South Korea , the national capital of Seoul includes three central business districts. The Downtown Seoul , a historic area inside the Fortress Wall of Seoul in the Jongno and Jung districts has historically been the city's political, social and cultural heart, and still houses many corporate headquarters and political institutions in South Korea. It is also the most popular area for tourists and

1534-468: The city's history. Cities with strong preservation laws and maximum building height restrictions to retain the character of the historic and cultural core may have a CBD quite a distance from the city centre (and in some cases, outside the city limits itself). This distinction is quite common in European cities such as Paris , Moscow , Vienna , Prague and Budapest . The New World grew quickly after

1593-650: The city's main commercial district. While the district has a high density of high rise buildings, the tallest building, the SK Building, only reaches a height of 160m due to historic preservation regulations. The second main district, located in the southeast part of Seoul, is Gangnam District , an area that was developed in the 1980s and is now among the city's most affluent neighborhoods. The Gangnam District has concentration mainly in economic power of Seoul, as many of prominent company HQs are located on Teheran Avenue . Gangnam Avenue and Yeondong Avenue, which includes

1652-724: The city. As of 2021, it is still under development. The construction of the MIBC takes place on the Presnenskaya Embankment of the Moskva River , approximately 4 kilometers (2.5 mi) west of Red Square , overlooked by the Third Ring Road. The project occupies an area of 60 hectares. The second-largest central business district is Yekaterinburg-City in Yekaterinburg , the fourth-largest city in

1711-515: The commercial and business activity located in or in the vicinity of the area. It has a permanent population of around 63,000 inhabitants and, during weekday business hours, a floating population that exceeds 700,000 daily commuters from other districts in Lima , the national capital. San Isidro is served by three stations of El Metropolitano , Lima's bus rapid transit system: Estación Javier Prado , Estación Canaval y Moreyra (with over 16,000 daily passengers) and Estación Aramburú . In

1770-488: The core of the city's downtown. Mexico City also has its own historic city center , the colonial era "Centro Histórico", along with two CBDs: the mid-late 20th century Paseo de la Reforma in Polanco , and the new Santa Fe , respectively. Russia 's largest central business district is the Moscow International Business Center in Moscow . The shape and type of a central business district almost always closely reflect

1829-554: The country estate, Tandridge Court in Surrey. Unlike the other Randlords, he was not given to lavish entertaining and spending, avoided the press, did not have an opulent London mansion and despite desiring a baronetcy, was not socially ambitious. With the outbreak of World War I and the anti-German hysteria that gripped England, Michaelis acted on a suggestion by General Smuts that he return to South Africa. Max Michaelis and his wife arrived in Cape Town in 1919. In December of that year

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1888-656: The country. It is located on the Iset River , and is under development as of 2021. The area occupies five hectares. Saudi Arabia has several business districts, including: In Singapore , the CBD is in the Downtown Core , one of the constituent planning areas of the Central Area , the country's city center . Its densest point is centered around Raffles Place , where most of Singapore's skyscrapers are located. The CBD sometimes also describes Central Area as

1947-570: The death of Max Michaelis, presented large collections of art to the National Art Gallery in Cape Town and to Pretoria, with further gifts to the Michaelis Collection in Cape Town. She was also the founder of the Lady Michaelis Orthopaedic Home in Cape Town. Moses Kottler created a bronze bust of Sir Max, which was placed in the garden of the Old Town House in Cape Town. In 1920, Max Michaelis acquired

2006-404: The early 21st century, the southeastern district of Surco experienced a significant increase in upscale corporate developments in the area comprised by avenues Manuel Holguín, El Derby, El Polo, and La Encalada due to lower restrictions to grant construction permit and proximity to residential middle and upper class districts and is set to become, after traditional San Isidro and Miraflores ,

2065-514: The emergence of modern transport, therefore a single centre often included many of the region's tallest buildings and served as both a commercial and cultural city centre. In the 21st century, increasing urbanisation has led to the development of megacities that often have multiple CBDs scattered across the urban area. Downtown sections of cities, especially in North America , often are distinct from CBDs and city centres. No two CBDs have

2124-703: The extended area of Gomti Nagar , and Aminabad in old Lucknow. Kolkata also has central business districts, including B.B.D. Bagh , Park Circus , Esplanade , Salt Lake Sector V , and New Town . The largest CBD in Indonesia is the Golden Triangle ( Segitiga Emas in Indonesian ) in Jakarta . Sudirman Central Business District , a super block that is located within the Golden Triangle,

2183-599: The financial capital of the country, the famous CBD is The Bandra Kurla Complex in Mumbai . In Mumbai itself there is Nariman Point , which is another CBD including Andheri and Parel . Parry's Corner and Nungambakkam are among the main CBDs of Chennai . Bangalore has five notable business districts: UB City , Brigade Gateway, Koramangala , Indiranagar , and Electronic City . Lucknow has three business districts, including Hazratganj Market , Gomti Nagar Extension at

2242-581: The fourth in the world. La Défense hosts 19 of the world's biggest 500 companies , whilst the Paris region as a whole hosts 29 of the world's 500 largest companies, establishing itself as the first city in Europe (and the third worldwide) for the number of companies classified in Fortune Fortune Global 500 . In Germany , the terms Innenstadt and Stadtzentrum may be used to describe

2301-574: The geographical centers of the city because the city center is the historical center of the city, and usually not very suitable to function as a modern business district. A precursor to modern business districts is EUR in Rome , which is now home to several national and international companies and public bodies. The EUR, the Napoli business district , the Milan business district , and City Life , are among

2360-605: The ground level, the library in the middle and dwelling rooms on the third that allowed rents to fund the buildings mortgage. In October 1899, the Second Anglo-Boer War broke out and the librarian and most of the English inhabitants of Johannesburg fled the Transvaal but a Boer burgher was asked to take care of the library and when the British under Lord Roberts retook the town in 1900, he reopened it and ran until

2419-574: The last of which features the only W Hotel in the city. Colombia's other notable CBDs include Parque Berrío in Medellín , Bocagrande in Cartagena (the largest touristic CBD in the country), and Paseo de Bolívar in Barranquilla . La Défense , west of Paris , is France 's largest central business district. La Défense was in 2017 ranked as the leading CBD in continental Europe, and

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2478-429: The lending library and books from the reference library and then money was set aside to increase the collection. In 1953, the disbanded City Orchestra gave the library a collection of 1,700 orchestral sets, 3,000 vocal scores and miniatures scores. The Michaelis Art Library was named after its benefactor Sir Max Michaelis who started the collection off with a donation of £1,000 to purchase art books. The Strange Collection

2537-562: The librarian could return. With British management of the Transvaal Colony after 1902, the Johannesburg Town Council was formed and they offered to take control of the library but the members refused but did accept a grant from the council for a free reading room with a limited number of free memberships. Further grants were given over the years and the council obtained membership on the library committee but

2596-406: The library fell into dire financial straits in 1921 after the end of the grants. The council was able to force a vote in 1924, which it won, to establish it as a "free" municipal library. The library was not entirely free with lending tickets issued on the receipt of a returnable cash deposit. By 1922, the old library building in Kerk Street had taken over the other two floors it used to rent out and

2655-399: The master planning of Bonifacio Global City. Ortigas Center (fourth), with an area of more than 100 hectares (250 acres), is the Philippines' second most important business district after the Makati CBD and is home to Asian Development Bank. Meanwhile, the Makati Central Business District (third), also known as the Makati CBD, is the leading financial and the largest central business district in

2714-423: The most important commercial areas in Italy. Other important business and financial centers are present in Genoa and Brescia . In Pakistan, a central business district or a large, concentrated urban setting within a settlement is called a shehar . Karachi is Pakistan's largest city and the country's economic hub; the I. I. Chundrigar Road acts as Karachi's main financial district. Shahra-e-Faisal in Karachi

2773-418: The new financial center of Lima . The Philippines has three major central business districts, which are all located in Metro Manila. Bonifacio Global City (second) is the newest and one of the largest central business districts in the Philippines. The Bases Conversion and Development Authority (BCDA), Ayala Land, Inc. and Evergreen Holdings, Inc. controls Fort Bonifacio Development Corporation, which oversees

2832-403: The other two business districts, Yeouido has some of Seoul's tallest skyscrapers, including Parc1 Tower , International Finance Center Seoul , and the 63 Building . Yeouido is where the National Assembly of South Korea and many media companies and political institutions are based. Smaller but notable central business districts in South Korea include the Jamsil area, which is the location of

2891-463: The returnable cash deposit making it a free library. It would open the Winifred Holtby Memorial Library in the Western Native Township , the first library for black readers. After World War Two, the branch libraries had increased to twenty-nine, with eight hospital and two mobile travelling libraries. 1938 saw the establishment of the Municipal Reference Library for the collection of publication used by local government and housed there until 1952 when it

2950-441: The same spatial shape, but there are certain common geometric patterns, which are largely a result of centralised commercial and industrial activities. In Australia , the term CBD is widely used officially and colloquially, in the sense of city centre. The two biggest cities, Melbourne and Sydney , have large CBDs. Sydney features growing micro central business districts, which serve as the hub for their respective areas outside

3009-450: The site of the rail terminus for the Kuala Lumpur–Singapore High Speed Rail . South Africa 's largest cities, Cape Town , Durban , Johannesburg , Pretoria , and Port Elizabeth , have CBDs that include the corporate headquarters for many of South Africa's largest companies, its convention centers , and many of the country's tallest buildings. Cape Town has one of South Africa's most iconic skyline (which includes Table Mountain ) and

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3068-499: The toilets, lifts, electrics, and air-conditioning upgraded. The new atrium contains three floors. The first two floors is a literacy and numeracy centre containing 212 work stations with free internet access and the third floor is a glassed enclosure designed to house exhibitions. The theatre section is used as a conference venue and the music section is used for listening to music or viewing film. The Music Library collection, created in 1950, has its origins from scores that originated in

3127-404: The town council offered them the use of land in Market Square if a library and museum were built but on its takeover by the latter in 1924, they would build it and move into the present building and opened on 6 August 1935. In 1937, after a study of overseas libraries, two branch libraries would be opened, as was a hospital library and its first mobile travelling library as well the cancellation of

3186-467: The urging of Lady Phillips, he endowed the chair of Fine Art at the University of Cape Town and in return was rewarded with an honorary LL.D. The school now bears his name, the Michaelis School of Fine Art . He also donated a large number of art works to museums in Kimberley and Johannesburg. In 1924 a knighthood was conferred on Max Michaelis. He died of cancer at Bellariastraße 7 in Zürich on 26 January 1932. Lady Michaelis, who returned to England on

3245-497: Was a South African financier, mining magnate, benefactor and patron of the arts. He received his early schooling in Nuremberg . Michaelis first arrived in South Africa in 1876 when he landed at Port Elizabeth . Two years later he had moved to Kimberley , drawn by the 1871 discovery of diamonds and the prospect of wealth. Here he became a close business associate of Julius Wernher and Alfred Beit and got to know Hermann Eckstein and Jim B. Taylor – friendships that were to last

3304-403: Was during apartheid era. In 1974 the Johannesburg library became the first public library to open its doors to all races. It was closed in 2009 for three years of extensive modernisation by conservation architect, Jonathan Stone and renovated by Fikile Construction. It was reopened to the public on 14 February 2012, on St. Valentine's Day . The renovation was funded with a conditional grant from

3363-443: Was moved to the Johannesburg City Hall and is now housed on the 12th floor of the Metro Centre in Braamfontein and called the Urban Resource Centre. By 1960's the library was running short of storage space and the gardens in front of the library were re-excavated to extend the underground stacks and store more than 750,000 books with space for about 20 years. The library did not allow access to other members of different races as it

3422-514: Was the area revived. In Frankfurt am Main 's city center, there is a business district called the " Bankenviertel ". In Düsseldorf , there is a business district which is located around the famous high street Königsallee with banks, shops and offices. Traditionally, the Central Business District "CBD" of Hong Kong is Central , where many multinational financial services corporations have their headquarters. Consulates general and consulates of many countries are also located in this area, as

3481-441: Was the city's first business center; There, the São Paulo Stock Exchange is located. The region comprising Avenidas Berrini, Doutor Chucri Zaidan, and Nações Unidas, the city's newest commercial district, has offices of multinational companies and also commercial services. In Rio de Janeiro , Brazil's second-largest city, the main business district still is in downtown, where Petrobrás and Vale headquarters are located, but there

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