Photos of Cape Town’s past…
I’ve lived in Cape Town since a small boy, and some of these photos really bring back some memories.
Others are from farther back than I can remember, showing scenes from the city’s past that remind one of just how empty South Africa was in the old days.
Picture 1: Cape Town station
Picture 2: The old cable car. Spot how undeveloped Lion’s head is!
Picture 3: Cape Town foreshore… No pepperpots against the mountain! Also notice the traffic circles at the bottom end of Adderly street, with no buildings around them!!
Picture 4: Cape De Waal Drive… Wow!!
Picture 5: Adderly Street, Cape Town central.
Picture 6: Newlands Cricket Grounds
Picture 7: The N1 national road from Cape Town! If you know Cape Town, you’ll know how amazingly unbelievable this photo looks!
Picture 8: Kalk Bay Harbour (I think… Could also be Simonstown)
Picture 9: If you know where this cinema is, let us know in the comments!
Picture 10: Hout Bay… Where are all the buildings?!
Picture 11: A petrol station in Sea Point, with NO buildings on signal hill or running along the base of Lion’s Head!
Picture 12: Beach Road, Sea Point
Picture 13: Beach Road, Sea Point
Picture 14: Muizenberg Beach.
Picture 15: People at the beach in full suits, ties and hats. South Africa isn’t exactly a cool climate. These guys must have been almost melting!
Picture 16: Adderly Street, Cape Town central.
Picture 17: Another art-deco cinema. (Know where? Tell us in the comments!)
Picture 18: Cape Town International Airport!!
Update: For hundreds more fantastic Cape Town pics, check out Etienne du Plessis’ Flickr set.
July 30th, 2008 at 12:06 pm
Wow….just wow… Any indication of which years this photos depict?
July 30th, 2008 at 12:14 pm
In fact…what would be REALLY cool is if you went out, as a little project, and took comparison photos of how it looks today.
Anyhow…linked to this page in my blog: http://utterinsanity.wordpress.com/2008/07/30/old-photos-of-cape-town/
July 30th, 2008 at 12:15 pm
Nope, but it’s got to be at least the fifties… I think they’re from a range of years though. I might start this as a regular, if I can find more photies, coz it’s kinda cool.
July 30th, 2008 at 12:25 pm
That’s actually a GREAT idea. Stay tuned…
July 30th, 2008 at 12:25 pm
Picture 9 Camps Bay?
Picture 17 The Metro in St George’s/Long Street?
sorry I’m vague but I left CT in 1965!
Thanks for sharing these excellent pictures.
July 30th, 2008 at 6:00 pm
This is really awesome. How *cute* is CT international?
July 31st, 2008 at 10:00 am
Where can i find the originals? I would love have them in print.
July 31st, 2008 at 4:41 pm
Photo 1 – “Meet me under the Clock on the Station” Used to catch the 5.13PM train to Simonstown from there! As a child, I was also amazed at the little train in the glass case under the Clock.
Photo 3 – The Union Castle “Mailship”
Photo 5 – Adderley Street, showing the balcony of the Grand Hotel. Check out the cars.
Photo 6 – Newlands Cricket ground from Castle Corner.
Photo 7 – The N1 from around about Plattekloof off ramp. The car is a Hudson. My Grandfather had one. The whole family used to go for a picnic in it!
Photo 8 – Kalk Bay harbour when the snoek boats had arrived!
Photo 9 – The Old Savoy in Rosebank, changed to the Cinerama. The section on the left was the Tea room attached.
Photo 15 is the section next to the Sea Point Pavilion.
Photo 17 – The Van Riebeeck Cinema. Cnr Riebeeck and Long Streets.
Photo 18 – The old Airport building. My friend John Hall and I used to ride our bikes out from Rondebosch to see the NEW Boeing 707 (pictured right)coming in. We could stand and wave friends off from the top of the building.
July 31st, 2008 at 4:44 pm
Wow, that’s awesome. Thanks Chris!
August 1st, 2008 at 5:03 pm
Hey Tim, I got a couple of these from a friend too via email and another friend has posted some “comparison” photos of “old and new”. Take a look at this blog post for more info and links.
December 9th, 2008 at 9:25 pm
The picture no 9 is is in Main Rd Rosebank Cape Town. It was the first Cinerama theatre in Cape Town converted in the lates 60’s. I saw movies like Grand Prix, Battle of the Bulge and Toro Toro Toro.All white knuckle stuff for the day
January 28th, 2009 at 1:17 pm
Picture 8: Kalk Bay Harbour (I think Could also be Simonstown)
My comment: This is definately Kalk Bay looking towards Muizenberg.
Picture 9: If you know where this cinema is, let us know in the comments!
My comment: This is the Cinerama movie house on Main Road, Rosebank. I remeber it in the nineteen sixties
Picture 17: Another art-deco cinema. (Know where? Tell us in the comments!)
My comment: This is the Van Riebeek movie house on the corner of Long and Riebeek Streets in Cape Town. I also remeber it in the nineteen sixties
March 30th, 2009 at 8:41 am
I can confirm the Cinema was the Cinerama theatre in Man Road Rosebank. The first movie shown there was "This is Cinerama" The Second one was "The Battle of the Bulge" where they included scenes of a train ride rushing reinforcements to the front for extra cinematic effect. Before it became the Cinerama it was the Savoy Theatre owned and managed by a Mr Aldridge who was attacked and robbed in the mid 60's and badly beaten. I remember that he always wore White Spats on his shoes and that they had cigarette and chocolate girls who walked around with lighted trays selling chocolate bars and cigs. On Saturday morningss they had moveies for the kids and there were always "serials" we would follow (ti make you come back the following week.) I don't believe Aldridge ever made it back full time after the attack and shortly thereafter it was bought and turned into Cinerama. Saw some great films there.
March 30th, 2009 at 8:44 am
In 1962 my Dad took me to the Savoy to see Audy Murphy in "Hell Bent for Leather" I was 10 years old. And they had the Savoy "tea room" next door which served delicious ice creams and Coke Floats, Rum and Raisen was my favourite. Ah yes those were the days. Life wa simple back then.
The Central Cape Town theatre pictured was also indeed the Van Riebeck movie House at Riebeck and Long
March 30th, 2009 at 8:48 am
In 1964 St Michaels Junior school standard 4 class went on a school trup to that DF Malan Aorport and we went into the control tower and were shown the radar and radio systems. I remember it so well. Almost all the planes were turrbo props-mainly Viscount aircraft. Of special interest is the plane in the photo taxing towards the apron (in those days you could sit on benches and watch the planes landing and taking off) is USAF DC-6. I wonder what they were doing there? Probably CIA if I had to guess.
March 30th, 2009 at 8:53 am
The Plane on the Right on the Apron is not a 707 as suggested but a SAA Vickers Viscount
March 30th, 2009 at 9:15 am
I have many more photos of old Cape Town in my computer, How do I send them? Give me an email address and I'll send them along for you to post -or of anyone wants them individually just email me privately at swanson@storm.ca
April 20th, 2009 at 8:03 am
Where can I get old photo's of greenpoint to have them printed and framed? Can anyone help?
April 21st, 2009 at 6:51 am
Just to inform everybody…….these photos are some from my collection of more than three hundred of Bygone Cape Town on Flickr.
There you will see full descriptions and dates they were taken.New additions are made weekly.
Have a look at http://www.flickr.com/photos/8270787@N07/sets/721...
April 21st, 2009 at 4:13 pm
Write your comment here…
April 30th, 2009 at 8:28 am
Hi Ettiene. Are you saying that you own the photos? (i.e. hold the copyright?) If so, please let me know.
June 12th, 2009 at 8:12 am
[...] History, Photos We’ve shown you a collection of photos from Cape Town’s yesteryear once before. Now, with many thanks to Jeremy Swanson, an ex-South African, we have a great selection of pics [...]
September 20th, 2009 at 7:32 pm
picture 17 could be the van riebeeck cinema in cape town. take the railway station, take van riebeeck street on your right and keep left. it is a slight uphill walk.
picture 11 is taken between mouille-point and seapoint.
picture 9 is in the plumstead-wynberg area.
picture 14 has some good memories for me.
the big building right on the sea had a beautiful victorian restaurant. muizenberg in the 1940's was considered the place to be for a night out. had they only saved the tiffany-lamps, destroyed by the hundred.
houtbaai, that is how I rememberd part of a road that went through a real bushy area. not the built-up that boomed in the 1970's.
picture 8 is kalkbay harbour. many whites waiting for the black fishermen, and their best fresh catch. romantic. and what was priced, was payed.
also an amazing pic at 18. d.f.malan, but not international in those days. and that united states airforce plane? well, every friday at about 16.00 hours, an american airplane would land and taxi to the military side of d.f.malan airport. that is also, where shakletons landed. and only to receive new engines. roll-royce of course. it is beter to be nato than warsaw-pact, the americans realized.
October 7th, 2009 at 3:45 pm
http://www.cinemasouvenirs.net/VanRiebeeckCTN.htm...
March 1st, 2010 at 5:36 pm
those pictures were brill i lived in muizenberg early 1970s i lived in beach court mansions
March 1st, 2010 at 5:46 pm
hi chris my name is andy i used to play on kalk bay docks as a child in the 1970s but now we have moved to england