1 Fox Precinct

About 1 Fox Precinct

In similar style to the Maboneng Precinct over on Fox and Kruger Streets in Johannesburg’s inner-city, 1 Fox Precinct lies in a couple of old warehouses in the city’s oldest part of town, the heart of Johannesburg - Ferreirasdorp - the M1 roaring overhead.

The buildings at 1 Fox Street were originally intended as warehouses and workshops for engineering company Hubert Davies - believed to have installed the first telephone on the goldfields - and have been here since the late 1800s. The company was awarded the contract to set up an electricity plant for the Johannesburg Lighting Company.

But the corrugated iron, brick and wood buildings stood empty and abandoned for years in Ferreirastown (named after a chap of the same name who set up the first mining camp in the area during the gold rush of 1886). Rumour also has it that where these warehouses now stand was the original site of one of the first bars of the gold rush.

The buildings functioned as a maintenance and storage area for the trams and buses of Johannesburg in the first half of the 20th century, particularly during the early 1900s when the sheds housed the first electric trams. Three power stations met the electricity needs of a rapidly expanding city.

Home of the The Market Shed, Mad Giant Brewery, the Good Luck Bar, Fox Junction Event Venue, LPV Distillery, and Urbanologi (tapas-style restaurant) Jo’burgers are just discovering the cool factor of the hangout area, particularly the garden area alongside the brewery.

After its initial launch in 2014 it has undergone a revamp or makeover, re-launching in mid 2016. Large event venues are in short supply and great demand in Jo’burg, and new owners - Sue Aerts and Jan Roode - have converted the Market Shed into what they call a ‘hip new space’; a versatile venue that is both large and can cater for smaller functions by easily subdividing the space, which is huge and comes complete with rigging points and technical staging.

Fox Junction hosts the bi-monthly pop-up market - enjoyable mainly because it manages to feel less crowded than the other two major food markets in downtown Johannesburg and parking is easier to find.

Go now, before everyone discovers it…weekends are best.