Unlike the more affluent areas of Kensington and Observatory surrounding it, Bez Valley has always been a predominantly working class area. In the past it was a proud working class area with a significant Portuguese population. These days more and more houses are overpopulated and neglected. As is the case in Yeoville and other areas weathering the Jo’burg city overflow, so-called 'slumlords' - frequently from other African countries - are buying up properties and dividing them up into small segments which are rented out at exhorbitant rates, often to vulnerable refugee families without permanent residence permits.
On the ridge, looking down at the Valley, there are still glorious homes, historically owned by the very rich. Some have been converted into bed and breakfast establishments. Others are for sale, such as the luxurious 1906 stone house Yukon, which has been on the market since the current owners relocated a couple of years ago.
Yukon is perched over the valley on the terraced southern slope of a conservation area of Observatory Ridge. It was originally built by Mr. Tommy Allen, who became the mayor of Johannesburg in 1917. The exact history of the house is uncertain, but Yukon served as the mayoral mansion for two of Johannesburg's mayors for some years. In 1981 it was declared a 'Provincial Heritatge Site'.Beautiful and majestic in character, the house offers a wide vista of the valley from Bedfordview to Jo’burg city. It has polished parquet floors, large mirrors, and 4.5m high pressed ceilings and contains six bedrooms with en suite bathrooms, a library, a lounge and a ballroom.
