Mary Fitzgerald Square
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The 22000 capacity Mary Fitzgerald Square is in the heart of Newtown, a part of downtown Johannesburg earmarked for a number of urban renewal projects. Icons of the South African cultural scene surround the square: the Market Theatre — which played host to much of the 1980's 'struggle theatre' opposing the apartheid regime's discriminatory policies; Museum Africa; the old Turbine Hall, and the Worker's Library.
Mary Fitzgerald Square is overlooked by an imposing diamond shaped glass skyscraper that houses mining 'major' AngloGold Ashanti, a successor to the early mining houses run by the Randlords. The Randlords were mining magnates who helped to establish Johannesburg's reputation as a wealthy frontier town built on gold. Mary "Pickhandle" Fitzgerald came to South Africa from Ireland in 1900 and was South Africa's first female trade union organiser. The square was officially named afer her in 1986. On 2 July 2005, Mary Fitzgerald Square hosted the Johannesburg leg of the Live 8 series of concerts organised by Bob Geldof.
