A view of Durban's South Beach in the 1950s.
Image: Facts About Durban
The old picture of Durban this week shows the Mermaid Lido on South Beach from a postcard shot in the late 1950s
Local historian Gerald Butigieg remembers the structure in a post on Facts About Durban: "Below, on promenade level, were small shops which sold mementoes and post cards and bric a brac such as Durban ashtrays etc. However, at a lower level was a rather grotty cafe called the Blue Grotto which was the hang out of a particular "ducktail" motor bike gang. Being a weedy teenager then I kept clear of them. Anyway what I remember is that when the aquarium was built at the open air stage site, a stage was built near the Mermaid Lido on the beach to replace it.
"I seem to remember it was made of wood panels in the shape of a small circus tent, hence the name Little Top. At the Little Top at Christmas season, they had Lucky Legs competitions when the girls used to parade with paper bags over their heads. They also had talent shows and ice cream eating races. The compere I remember was Cyril Sugden, an Englishman, and he used to wear a striped blazer and a boater. In later years, I think Clover sponsored the Little Top and it was replaced by the orange ball because they sold an orange fresh fruit product. I think it was in the mid 70s that the top of the Mermaid Lido was converted into a cinema.
The scene today. The original picture was probably taken from the old wooden pier that once stood at the end of West Street, which has long been demolished, so I had to stand on the shoreline to take the picture. The place where The Joint is today would have been the back of the Lido.
Image: Frank Chemaly
The Mermaid Lido was demolished as part of a Beachfront reorganisation for the 2010 Wolrd Cup, dramatically increasing the size of South Beach
Regarding the hotels in the background on the left is the five-star Claridges built in 1955 and designed by architects Crofton & Benjamin. The hotel was renowned for its unique undulating roofline designed to resemble ocean waves. It was a landmark 1970s/80s nightlife spot, particularly for "The Cats Whiskers" club. It is now operating as the Gooderson Tropicana Hotel.
Next is the Belmont Apartment Block designed by Alfred Arthur Ritchie McKinlay Architect 1927. It was pulled down in 1977 for the current multi-storey Belmont Arcade featuring 105 flats, commercial premises, and parking.
On the other side West Street was the old Beach Hotel which was pulled down and replaced with the present building in the early 60s. The hotel may have been the first beach front hotel on what was known as the Back Beach in the early days.
Butigieg writes: "I remember it as the single storey with the long verandah and the big sea facing gables. Then the redevelopment of the corner site it stood on into a multi-storey building that it is today.
Last in the row is The Balmoral Hotel, or the Bad Morals as many old timers may remember its nickname.
Butigieg remembers there used to be a wooden pier at the end of West Street but it was closed off and the railings removed leaving the pylons only. I remember fisherman used to venture out, climb the pylon and fish from there all alone.