Melrose includes several suburbs of

Johannesburg Johannesburg ( , , ; Zulu language, Zulu and Xhosa language, Xhosa: eGoli ) (colloquially known as Jozi, Joburg, Jo'burg or "The City of Gold") is the most populous city in South Africa. With 5,538,596 people in the City of Johannesburg alon ...

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 ...

. It is located in Region E of the

City of Johannesburg Metropolitan Municipality The City of Johannesburg Metropolitan Municipality () is a metropolitan municipality that manages the local governance of Johannesburg, the largest city in South Africa. It is divided into several branches and departments in order to expedite se ...

. Melrose is a developing up-market suburb.

History

The suburb has it origins when Henry Brown Marshall purchased land in the north of Johannesburg in 1893. Prior to the discovery of gold on the

Witwatersrand The Witwatersrand (, ; ; locally the Rand or, less commonly, the Reef) is a , north-facing scarp in South Africa. It consists of a hard, erosion-resistant quartzite metamorphic rock, over which several north-flowing rivers form waterfalls, w ...

in 1886, the suburb lay on land on one of the original farms that make up

, called ''Syferfontein''. It was called the Melrose Estate of 713 acres and at the time was 9.7km north of the

central business district A central business district (CBD) is the Commerce, 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 wit ...

. He built his home there and planted trees on the land. The suburb was laid out in 1902.

Melrose Arch

The Melrose Arch

mixed-use development Mixed use is a type of urban development, urban design, urban planning and/or a zoning classification that blends multiple uses, such as residential, commercial, cultural, institutional, or entertainment, into one space, where those functions ...

is located in Melrose. The development, which cost ZAR 800 million to build, began construction in 2007, with Phase One completed in November 2009. It contains 170,000 m2 of office and retail space, in addition to residential space and 2 hotels. The area is characterised by cobbled alleys, red brick buildings, and open-air cafés, and gives preference to pedestrians. The retail area includes major retailers

Truworths Truworths (officially Truworths International Ltd) is a South African clothing and footwear retailer. Founded in 1917, and based in Cape Town, Truworths operates a total of 888 stores, 763 of which are in South Africa, 88 in the United Kingdom a ...

, Edgars, Woolworths, as well as the large Virgin Active Classic gym. It is also famously known to light up the city during the festive season in December. Not only having stunning light displays but they also offer family fun for all ages.

References

Johannesburg Region E New Urbanism communities {{Johannesburg-stub