Green Point, Cape Town

Green Point
Green Point
Suburb of Cape Town
PO box	8005
Area code	021

Green Point (

Jewish

neighbourhood. Somerset Road forms the main thoroughfare lined by restaurants, cafés, delis, boutiques and nightclubs.

History

The area was originally a flat coastal plain to the fore of

Atlantic Sea storms.^[2]

In response to the arrival of a British fleet in

Cape Governor, Sir George Grey lay the foundation stone for Somerset Hospital, which opened in the area in 1864. It is now a provincial heritage site.^[3] In 1889, a railway line ran through Green Point that connected Cape Town and Sea Point. The privately-owned railway came under the control of Cape Government Railways in 1905. The line was eventually closed and the tracks were raised in 1929.^[2]

During the

Ceylon.^[2] During apartheid, Green Point was designated as a “whites-only” area as part of the Group Areas Act.^[4] Steve Bloom, a photographer known for his portraits of apartheid, lived locally in the 1970s and captured life under apartheid in the suburb.^[5] However, pockets of non-white residents lived in the suburb during this period. In the 1980s it was known as a “grey area”, a term used for racially-mixed residential neighbourhoods during apartheid.^[6]

Cape Town Stadium opened in 2010 in time for the 2010 FIFA World Cup, it largely replaced the previous Green Point Stadium.^[7] Green Point Common, also known as Green Point Urban Park & Biodiversity Garden is today a focal attraction in the area and has an indigenous garden with local vegetation species.^[8] Since 2017, Helen Bowden Nurses' Home in Green Point has been a flashpoint for the Reclaim The City movement and debates over affordable housing in the area.^[9]

Transportation

The suburb is served by the MyCiTi bus rapid transit system. The 108 and 109 lines take passengers to Hout Bay, Sea Point, V&A Waterfront and Adderley Street in downtown Cape Town. ^[10]

Houses of worship

Reform Jewish congregation on Upper Portswood Road, affiliated with the South African Union for Progressive Judaism

The
Orthodox Jewish congregation on Marais Road, Sea Point that also serves the Green Point community. In 1994 it had the largest Jewish congregation in the Southern Hemisphere.^[11]

Sacred Heart, a

Catholic

church on Somerset Road & Napier Street

St Margaret Mary, a

Catholic

church on Cheviot Place Road

Education

Reddam House, an
independent school
serving pupils age 1 through to Grade 12 on Cavalcade Road

Green Point families are also served by nearby schools in Sea Point and Three Anchor Bay;

Jewish

primary school in Sea Point

Cape Town French School, a French international school, with a primary school campus in Sea Point
Ellerton Primary School, a public primary school in Three Anchor Bay
Sea Point High School, a co-educational public high school in Sea Point

Gallery

Boer prisoners during the Second Boer War

Somerset Hospital built in 1864
Pond in Green Point Park with Signal Hill and Lion's Head in the background.
Stepping stone bridge in Green Point Park.
Pond in Green Point Park.

References

^ ^a ^b ^c ^d "Sub Place Green Point". Census 2011.
^ ^a ^b ^c ^d ^e A DESKTOP SPECIALIST ARCHAEOLOGICAL STUDY OF THE REMAINDER ERF 1056 GREEN POINT: CAPE TOWN STADIUM AND GRANGER BAY PRECINCT SAHRA. April 2014
^ "New Somerset Hospital". University of Cape Town. Retrieved 21 May 2018.
^ Timeline of the Group Areas Act and Selected Related Pieces Legislation South African History Online. Accessed on 13 September 2023
^ ‘Pictures like this meant I couldn’t return to South Africa until apartheid was abolished’: Steve Bloom’s best shot The Guardian. 16 February 2023
^ A backstreet that’s shedding its skin Vrye Weekblad. 8 September 2023
^ Perfect pitch: Cape Town's Green Point stadium The Guardian. 31 May 2020
^ The alternative city guide to Cape Town, South Africa The Guardian. 18 February 2016
^ 'End spatial apartheid': why housing activists are occupying Cape Town The Guardian. 25 May 2017
^ MyCiTi System Map Accessed on 12.9.2023
^ Mandela Visits Cape Town Shul and Reassures Jews on Their Future Jewish Telegraphic Agency. 10 May 1994

[census2011-1] "Sub Place Green Point". Census 2011.

[sah-2] A DESKTOP SPECIALIST ARCHAEOLOGICAL STUDY OF THE REMAINDER ERF 1056 GREEN POINT: CAPE TOWN STADIUM AND GRANGER BAY PRECINCT SAHRA. April 2014

[anaest-3] "New Somerset Hospital". University of Cape Town. Retrieved 21 May 2018.

[4] Timeline of the Group Areas Act and Selected Related Pieces Legislation South African History Online. Accessed on 13 September 2023

[5] ‘Pictures like this meant I couldn’t return to South Africa until apartheid was abolished’: Steve Bloom’s best shot The Guardian. 16 February 2023

[vry-6] A backstreet that’s shedding its skin Vrye Weekblad. 8 September 2023

[7] Perfect pitch: Cape Town's Green Point stadium The Guardian. 31 May 2020

[8] The alternative city guide to Cape Town, South Africa The Guardian. 18 February 2016

[9] 'End spatial apartheid': why housing activists are occupying Cape Town The Guardian. 25 May 2017

[10] MyCiTi System Map Accessed on 12.9.2023

[11] Mandela Visits Cape Town Shul and Reassures Jews on Their Future Jewish Telegraphic Agency. 10 May 1994

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