Crossroads

This is the St Philips Anglican Church in Richmond Hill, with a commanding view of the sea from the brow of the hill. As you can see from the sign, it is directly opposite Richmond Park. In the early days of PE, this hill used to be a location covered with traditional M'Fengu beehive straw huts, and this church served the harbour workers and others who lived here. The park was originally their graveyard.

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PEs new hot spot

Welcome to Ginger, at the Beach Hotel. This beautiful and trendy new spot is great place for a smart meal, but there is also a more relaxed terrace, overlooking Shark Rock Pier. I was lucky enough to have a great lunch there this week, for a friend's birthday. The sea was the most amazing clear azure blue, the white umbrellas kept us relatively cool considering what a scorcher of a day it was, and the food and service were superb.…

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Moon + Shadow

I'm sure blogland is going to be awash with images of the latest total eclipse of the moon.... but anyway here is a sepia shot of how it looked in PE at 3.48 am on Thursday.

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dirty details.

Here is a close up look at Ken Denton's shameful legacy. Yesterday we showed you the original historic documents relating to these houses. This is how they look today.And the closer you get, the worse it is. These once proud properties are mostly rented out to illegal immigrants, and the decorative woodwork is apparently being systematically removed for firewood.The dark circle next to the door in the bottom left picture shows the place where the brass plaque declaring this a…

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In the beginning…….

Here are 3 fascinating pages found amongst the collection of historic documents at our main library.They are from the original fragile land books of the early 1800s in which all grants of land by the Colonial Government to the city were detailed. They are hand written in flowing copperplate, and accompanied by hand drawn maps by the Surveyor, to detail the exact positions of the properties. These are for the Donkin Terrace that we are currently featuring, and as you…

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A dark cloud hangs over the Donkin

One of the iconic PE landmarks is this terrace in Donkin Hill, built in the early 1800's. This photo was taken recently. Below is one taken several years ago, so that you can compare, and see what has become of these stunning old houses.Sadly, they have become dilapidated and are deteriorating daily.This terrace is one of the earliest in Port Elizabeth, and when people think of this town, is one of the defining images that comes to mind. It is…

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View from the Donkin Reserve

This is a different view of the Donkin reserve looking towards the Hill Presbetarian Church and the historical homes on the Donkin Terrace.We plan to do a series on what is happening to this historical area that is such an integral part of the Port Elizabeth heritage.

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Reflections of history

Sometimes when we go for early morning walks to catch the sunrise over Algoa Bay, we see more than we bargained for. Here is a shot of the historical suburb of Richmond Hill relected in the windows of the Eric Tindale building.On top of the hill we have a lovely quiet suburb, but a short walk below us is the city centre. Not too busy at 7:00 in the morning.

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Shark rock Pier #4, an unusual view

Here's a view of the Pier you won't see every day.... taken from a yacht when we were lucky enough to go sailing a couple of weeks ago. If you live in the area, and think this looks cool, do yourself a favour and check this out... on 23rd and 24th of February, the Algoa Bay Yacht Club is having an open weekend to introduce the public to the joys of sailing.And here's a bonus shot, with another of the…

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