From Durban's Observatory

The old picture this week shows the city and part of Greyville Racecourse from the Observatory on the Berea, with North beach and the Bluff in the background.

The trees in the foreground are the city's Botannic Gardens and the fields at Currie's Fountain can clearly be seen on the right. The two turrets in the foreground are of St Aidan Church attached to the hospital and the building's in front of them part of the old ML Sultan technical college, today part of the Durban University of Technology.

St Aidan’s Mission Hospital in Durban was established by the Rev Dr Lancelot Parker Booth in the 1880s to provide medical care, education, and spiritual support to impoverished Indian indentured labourers. Originally a dispensary at 49 Cross Street, it evolved into a formal mission hospital, moving to Centenary Road in 1935. The church was built in 1966.

The scene today is very different. The growth of the trees in the Botannic Gardens all but obliterate the race course. While you can still make out the two towers of St Aidan's Church, the foreground is dominated by the Shree Gujarati Hindu Sanskruti Kendra in Durban, which was established in 1993 and officially opened in April 2001. It acts as a central hub for the city's Gujarati community, promoting cultural, educational, and religious activities. 

The old picture was probably shot in the late 1980s. While it is not 100% clear it looks like the Embassy building in the city had not been built yet. This at 120m high and consisting of 28 floors is the 7th highest building in Durban and was completed in 1991.

Today the Observatory grounds are the home of Hush Coffee, open from Tuesday to Sunday whwere you can sit and take in the spectacular view of the city.