city centre

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Prester John Cross

Behind the City Hall in the city centre stands a very unique monument.  The Prester John Memorial is the only monument in the world dedicated to the mythical King-priest who was rumoured to live somewhere in Africa.  While the Portuguese were looking for a sea way to the East around Africa, it was also their quest to find Prester John as a Christian ally in Africa as he was said to be a wise king living in a land with lots…

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31/01/2012
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Of angels and books

One of the, at a lack of a better word, features on the historic Public Library in the city centre with what looks like an angel on top and a book in the centre.

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28/01/2012
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Queen Vic and the library tower

The statue of Queen Victoria was erected in front of the Public Library in the city centre in 1903 in commemoration of the Queen's Diamond Jubilee (1897).  The library building itself was erected in 1902.

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03/01/2012
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Looking up at Queen Vic

Looking up at the statue of Queen Victoria standing in front of the historic Public Library in the Port Elizabeth city centre.  The statue was unveiled in 1903, one year after the library's opening.Visit Skywatch for more pictures from around the world featuring the sky

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16/12/2010
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Jetty Street

People arriving in Port Elizabeth by ship in the old days disembarked at the old jetty and had to travel up Jetty Street into the town.  The statue of Queen Victoria was positioned in front of the Public Library to look down Jetty Street and welcome visitors to the town.  In the 1970's when the Settlers Freeway was constructed it literally cut the harbour off from the town centre area and Jetty Street was closed up when the bus station was…

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30/11/2010
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Looking up at City Hall

The Port Elizabeth City Hall on Market Square in the city centre must be one of the most beautiful buildings in Port Elizabeth.  Constructed between 1858 and 1862 with the clock tower being added on in 1883, the building just received a paint job and is looking stunning. 

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29/11/2010
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Dias Cross and City Hall

Standing next to the City Hall on Port Elizabeth's Market Square is a replica of the crosses that Bartholomew Dias planted along the coastline on his epic journey in 1488. Dias was the first European to discover the southern point of Africa. He rounded the Cape in a storm and first landed in Mossel Bay, putting up a cross there. His next stop was Algoa Bay where he erected a cross on St Croix Island. From here he sailed as…

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04/08/2010
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Hazy city centre

I had to pop down to the beachfront the other day and got this shot across the Bay towards a hazy city centre with the tank farm and manganese ore dumps in the foreground.

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04/05/2010