Once upon a time, Cape Town was a small coastal city where you could buy nearly everything you needed from the Spracklens or the delis on Plein, and The Clifton Hotel was THE place to be.

The photographs that survive tell the story of this bygone era. These pictures were posted on Facebook by members of the Cape Town – Down Memory Lane group. Unfortunately the names of the original photographers themselves are not known.

The view up Adderley Street, with Table Mountain to the left and Riebeeck Street to the right.

 

This is a postcard of the old Cape Town station.

 

This postcard photograph was taken out of one of the multistorey blocks on Adderley Street, probably sometime in the 1950s or early ’60s. In it you can see the trackless trams that used to service the city centre, they were called trolleybuses.

 

The shops that clustered along Plein Street, as pictured in this shot from the late ’60s or early ’70s.

 

The famous flower sellers of Adderley Street, hard at work many decades ago.

 

The Hotel Elizabeth – affectionately known as The Liz – was the trendiest place to hang out along the Sea Point promenade in the 1970s.

 

 

Pictures: Facebook

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