HOUGHTON HISTORY AND INFORMATION

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Houghton is an extremely wealthy suburb of Johannesburg, Gauteng Province, South Africa. One of the most famous current residents was Nelson Mandela, who had a mansion there. Upper Houghton contains many buildings and houses of historical value to Johannesburg. A favourite tourist spot is the Munro Drive, which offers fantastic views over the northern suburbs of Johannesburg.

King Edwards VII School for Boys (or KES, as its known) is located just off of the Munro Drive and is over 100 years old, and has groomed such top sportsmen as Graeme Smith, Neil McKenzie and Jean De Villiers.

Another top South African boys school, is St Johns College, situated just down the road, and is traditionally superior to its nearby rival in academics but inferior on the sports field. The fact that these two prestigious schools are in the area, along with some excellent golf courses, has meant that this beautiful suburb (which is within close proximity to dangerous Yeoville and Hillbrow) has maintained its reputation as one of the safest and greenest areas of the city to live in. Houghton has two golf courses (Houghton and Killarney) and a large public park.

Despite its rapid development, the land value and house prices remain strong In 2001, the average house price was R1.2m; in 2006 it was R3.7m. The suburb is currently experiencing rapid redevelopment. This redevelopment, sanctioned by the City of Johannesburg's Regional Spatial Development Framework. The City sees many positive aspects to the redevelopment, but it is not uncontroversial and has resulted in the destruction of many traditional houses.