History of The Foreshore

• Province: Western Cape
• Coordinates: 33.92°S 18.43°E
• Area: 2.34 km2
• Municipality; City of Cape Town

Until the 1940s, the Foreshore was underwater. Salt River and Paarden Island were part of a large tidal estuary where the Liesbeek and Black Rivers met naturally. By the early 20th century, most of this land was reclaimed, and by the 1960s, the rivers were canalised, with the modern confluence near Observatory completed around 1968.

The Dutch firm Hollandse Aanneming Maatschappij was contracted in 1937 to do the work of draining and reclaiming, and 194 acres were reclaimed on the shore of Table Bay.
The job was supposed to be completed in 1941, but due to the war, the deadline was extended to 1945. Before the reclamation, the shoreline was at the present railway station. The row of palm trees that still stand marked the original waterfront.
The work officially began in 1935 with an opening ceremony, including General J B M Hertzog, the Prime Minister at the time.

See a virtual demo of the construction of the Foreshore

Vintage picture of the old pier that was demolished before the reclamation.

The area was administered by the Foreshore Board, which was created in 195,0 and it did not fall under the management of Cape Town City. However, it is now included in the Cape Town municipality. The Foreshore project was probably the most ambitious reclamation scheme undertaken anywhere in the world at the time.

                Foreshore 1950s

The postcode on the Foreshore is 8001

Things to see and do on the foreshore:

• The Cape Town Railway Station,
• -The Cape Town Civic Centre,
• -Artscape Theatre Centre,
• -Cape Town International Convention Centre
• -Paul Sauer Building,
• _Culemborg

Local WEATHER today

all listings on the foreshore

Useful Numbers

• Police: Table Bay Harbour Police Station- 021 403 1000
• Traffic Department: Gallows Hill Traffic Department-0860 103 089
• Fire: Central Fire Station & Sentrale Brandweerstasie-021 444 8963
• Water: 0860 103 089
• Electricity: 0860 103 089
• Ambulance: 10177
• Post office; Cape Town General Post Office, Grand Central-021 464 1707
• Closest hospital/clinic;Netcare Christiaan Barnard Memorial Hospital-021 441 0000
• Pharmacy-021 441 0344
• SPCA: 021 700 4140
• Schools; Curro Foreshore-021 834 1977
  EC Cape Town English Language School-021 422 4111
• Museums; Castle of Good Hope-021 787 1260
  Slave Museum Cape Town- 021 467 7229
  Zeitz Museum of Contemporary Art Africa-087 350 4777
  Iziko Slave Lodge-021 467 7229