then and now, Cape Road

In the past, the main road to Cape Town lead up the hill from the City Centre, through what was a rocky gorge called Hyman's Kloof, until Russell Road was built through it. At this point it turns towards the West, and flattens out to become one of the major arterial routes through to the Western Suburbs, and eventually Cape Town. (Although, these days, few people would go that way, as there is a freeway leading West as well.) As you can see, it is a 4 lane dual carriageway, and this section at the top of Russell Road is bounded by high rise apartment buildings amongst the old historic homes.







But, as you can see from this postcard kindly sent by John Unsworth, in the early days, it was much narrower, and had a tram service running up and down the hill to the City Centre.