Durban Then & Now – 1954 vs 2014

Following the interest in the Cape Town and Johannesburg Then & Now videos, we felt it would be a travesty of the first order to leave out a Durban Then & Now. So we set out to recreate Durban scenes of the past in the same location 60 years later.

What do you think? Has a lot changed in the sunny city over the last 6 decades? Subscribe to our channel to see more awesome videos.

Watch the video

Durban Main Beach Front

Comparing the Durban beachfront over 60 years.

The Beachfront has always been the epicentre of accessible outdoor entertainment in Durban

View from Golden Sands Hotel

View from Golden Sands Hotel

Dr Pixley KaSeme Street (West Street)

West Street

Dr Pixley KaSeme Street (formerly West Street) signals the centre of town under it’s new name honouring a hero of the struggle and former president of the ANC.

New Beach

View of New Beach View of New Beach

Long characterised by high-rise hotel blocks and the piers which straight-arrow their way into the surf, the face of Durban’s Golden Mile has changed dramatically in recent years; the most significant developments being the Moses Mabhida Stadium,  Suncoast Casino and uShaka Marine World near South Beach.

Beachfront Restaurant

Beachfront Restaurant Beachfront Restaurant

Warwick Junction

In what is arguably South Africa’s most authentic African marketplace, Warwick Junction is a mashup of merchants selling everything from traditional ‘muti’ to music and fresh produce.


More Then & Now videos

Check out these other videos in which we celebrate the past and present of other South African cityscapes:

Cape Town Then & Now

Johannesburg Then & Now

Remember to subscribe to our channel to see more awesome videos. Production company: Para Film productions.

Our Readers Comments

  1. DURBAN COULD BECOME ONE OF THE BEST CITIES IN SOUTH AFRICA,IF WE ALL PUT OUR
    HEADS TOGETHER AND ASSIST IN ERADICATING CRIME AND REPORTING PEOPLE DEALING IN
    DRUGS AND CRIME.ITS OUR CITY ,DONT LET IT TURN OUT TO BE A SLUM,REPORT RUN DOWN BUILDINGS.FOR THE SAKE OF OUR CHILDREN ,WHO WILL BECOME LEADERS IN THE FUTURE.IT IS OUR MORAL OBLIGATIION IN TURNING DURBAN AROUND

    • That would be great Danny. I was seriously thinking of visiting Durban this March, but after seeing photos of a railway station on fire, a hotel next to where I was going to stay on fire and even smoke billowing out from the main police station, all within a few days of each other, I thought it best to leave it for another time.

Have something to say...