[3] These consisted of middle and upper-income white suburbs around the city centre and the Indian area of Bakerton east of the CBD.

[3] In the 1950s the residents were forcibly removed and relocated to the newly created, KwaThema, southwest of the CBD.

After Miami in Florida, it has the highest number of small-scale Art Deco buildings in the world.

[5][6] Nadine Gordimer (1923 - 2014), the first South African Nobel Laureate in Literature (1991), was born and raised in Springs.

It was founded as a coal and gold mining town in 1904, but its history can be traced back to the second half of the 19th century.

Such an odd piece existed between three neighbouring farms on the Witwatersrand, namely Geduld (meaning 'patience'), De Rietfontein ('the reed fountain') and Brakpan (literally, 'small, brackish lake').

There were a number of corrugated iron houses around the mine and, although there was a few small hotels and general dealers, it was not a town yet.

The settlement grew and in 1902 a health committee was appointed to look after the building and location of structures and also the hygiene in the growing township.

Coal was discovered in the area in 1887 and three years later in 1890–1891, the Transvaal Republic's first railway, the Randtram Line, was built by the Netherlands-South African Railway Company (NZASM) to carry coal from the East Rand coalfields to the gold mines of the Witwatersrand.

Gradually, especially after coal was discovered further east in South Africa in Witbank, the Springs collieries were closed.

By the late 1930s, there were eight gold mines near Springs, making it the largest single gold-producing area in the world.

[8] Springs is currently one of the industrial centers of the Witwatersrand and also the Eastern Gateway of Gauteng towards Mpumalanga and Northern Kwazulu Natal.

Mining has been replaced by manufacturing and engineering industries of economic importance; products of the region include processed metals, chemicals, paper and foodstuffs.

Although Springs is a highly industrial city, its suburbs are treelike with many parks and also giving some suburban character.

[5] The style of architecture evoked sophistication and wealth, employed to "counteract the incipient provincialism associated with a colonial city.

"[6] In 1998, Micha Birch, then a member of the National Monuments Council, approached the municipality about arranging an exhibition of the city's Art Deco architecture.

At the entrance of the Springs Railway station there is an old orange tree planted by the Dutch people when Queen Wilhelmina of the Netherlands visited the old South African Republic accompanied by the then South African president Paul Kruger.

That Hall is being built in honor of the M.O.T.H., which stands for the Members of the Order of the Tin Hat Soldiers who fought during world war two.

August is usually a very windy month continuing into early spring of September with sandstorms and strong winds.

The Blesbokspruit Wetland Region in Springs draws over 300 species of birds, including the great flamingo, Egyptian Goose, barn owl, blue crane, guineafowl, secretary-bird and the ostrich.

The blesbok, mongoose, reed buck, read jackal, black wildebeest, springbok, mountain zebra, the porcupine and other mammals are to be found, but usually within reserve areas.

Today (2015) most of the community has left for Johannesburg, Cape Town, or further afield like Israel, Australia, the US and the UK.

Historically, Springs was known as a mining centre for two major types of minerals (gold and coal).

Afrox Healthcare has a plant in Enstra, Springs specializing in health care products.

Springs is home to Jachris pty limited, a hose and coupling manufacturer that supplies most of Southern Africas mining houses.

In Northeastern Springs, the Blesbokspruit Wetland Reserve has a great diversity of birds and plants.

Springs is also served by a local radio station, the East Rand Stereo on a frequency of 93.9 FM Stereo, covering the whole of Ekurhuleni Metro, eastern parts of Johannesburg, Heidelberg, Delmas, Secunda in Mpumalanga, Leandra, and Devon in Eastern Gauteng, with over 300,000 listeners.

East Rand Stereo operates from the headquarters in Springs, following some satellite studios that had been opened in Brakpan, Benoni and Boksburg.

Springs is served by a very good transportation system, by both road and rail and is also close to the OR Tambo International Airport in Kempton Park via the N12 and R21.

Important and well-known people who were born or lived in Springs include Nobel laureate in Literature Nadine Gordimer and Olympic swimming gold medallist Penny Heyns.