Sea Point (

Afrikaans Afrikaans is a West Germanic languages, West Germanic language spoken in South Africa, Namibia and to a lesser extent Botswana, Zambia, Zimbabwe and also Argentina where there is a group in Sarmiento, Chubut, Sarmiento that speaks the Pat ...

: ''Seepunt'') is an affluent and densely populated suburb of

Cape Town Cape Town is the legislature, legislative capital city, capital of South Africa. It is the country's oldest city and the seat of the Parliament of South Africa. Cape Town is the country's List of municipalities in South Africa, second-largest ...

, situated in the

Western Cape The Western Cape ( ; , ) is a provinces of South Africa, province of South Africa, situated on the south-western coast of the country. It is the List of South African provinces by area, fourth largest of the nine provinces with an area of , an ...

, between Signal Hill and the

Atlantic Ocean The Atlantic Ocean is the second largest of the world's five borders of the oceans, oceanic divisions, with an area of about . It covers approximately 17% of Earth#Surface, Earth's surface and about 24% of its water surface area. During the ...

, a few kilometres to the west of Cape Town's

Central Business District A central business district (CBD) is the Commerce, commercial and business center of a city. It contains commercial space and offices, and in larger cities will often be described as a financial district. Geographically, it often coincides wit ...

(CBD). Moving from Sea Point to the CBD, one passes first through the small suburb of Three Anchor Bay, then Green Point. Seaward from Green Point is the area known as

Mouille Point Mouille Point ("Mu-lee") is an affluent suburb of Cape Town, situated between the Victoria & Alfred Waterfront, Victoria and Alfred Waterfront and Granger Bay to the east, Green Point, Cape Town, Green Point to the south and the Atlantic Ocean to t ...

(pronounced "mu-lee"), where the local lighthouse is situated. It borders to the southwest the suburb of

Bantry Bay Bantry Bay () is a bay located in County Cork, Ireland. The bay runs approximately from northeast to southwest into the Atlantic Ocean. It is approximately 3-to-4 km (1.8-to-2.5 miles) wide at the head and wide at the entrance. Geograp ...

. It is known for its large Jewish population, synagogues, and

kosher (also or , ) is a set of dietary laws dealing with the foods that Jewish people are permitted to eat and how those foods must be prepared according to Jewish law. Food that may be consumed is deemed kosher ( in English, ), from the Ashke ...

food options. Sea Point's positioning along the

coastline of the

Atlantic Seaboard Atlantic Coast may refer to: * Any coast facing the Atlantic Ocean Regions * East Coast of the United States * Gulf Coast of the United States * Caribbean region of Colombia * Atlantic Canada * Argentine Basin Sports * Atlantic Coast Confe ...

- from the Promenade to its wide variety of restaurants, has led to this neighbourhood being named as one of the most popular places in Cape Town to live in or invest in, with average property prices well above the median for the city. In addition, Sea Point serves as a popular destination amongst tourists and visitors, being named by Time Out magazine as "one of the coolest neighbourhoods in the world" in 2022 and 2023. Sea Point forms part of Ward 54 in The City Of Cape Town, and is represented by Democratic Alliance councillor Nicola Jowell. The ratepayers, residents and local businesses in the area are represented by the Sea Point, Fresnaye & Bantry Bay Ratepayers and Residents Association (SFB), a volunteer-led organization financed by donations and memberships. The SFB's mandate includes defending the heritage of the area, construction applications, providing added security and cleansing above what is provided by the City and State, and communications with residents and ratepayers, as well as on behalf of these parties with stakeholders such as the City of Cape Town.

History

Some of the first settlers in the area were the aristocratic Protestant Le Sueur family from Bayeux in Normandy. François Le Sueur arrived in 1739 as spiritual advisor to Cape Governor Hendrik Swellengrebel. The family's Cape estate, Winterslust, originally covered on the slopes of Signal Hill. The estate was later named Fresnaye, and now forms part of the suburbs of Sea Point and Fresnaye. Sea Point got its name in 1767 when one of the commanders serving under Captain Cook, Sam Wallis, encamped his men in the area to avoid a smallpox epidemic in Cape Town at the time. It grew as a residential suburb in the early 1800s, and in 1839 was merged into a single municipality with neighbouring Green Point. The 1875 census indicated that Sea Point and Green Point jointly had a population of 1,425. By 1904 it stood at 8,839. With the 1862 opening of the Sea Point tramline, the area became Cape Town's first "commuter suburb", though the line linked initially to Camps Bay. At the turn of the century, the tramline was augmented by the Metropolitan and Suburban Railway Company, which added a line to the City Centre. During the 1800s, Sea Point's development was dominated by the influence of its most famous resident, the liberal parliamentarian and MP for Cape Town,

Saul Solomon Saul Solomon (25 May 1817 – 16 October 1892) was an influential liberal politician of the Cape Colony, a British colony in what is now South Africa. Solomon was an important member of the movement for responsible government and an opponent of ...

. Solomon was both the founder of the

Cape Argus The ''Cape Argus'' is a daily newspaper co-founded in 1857 by Saul Solomon and published by Sekunjalo in Cape Town, South Africa. It is commonly referred to as ''The Argus''. Although not the first English-language newspaper in South Africa ...

and the most influential liberal in the country—constantly fighting racial inequality in the Cape. His Round Church (St John's) of 1878 reflected his syncretic approach to religion—housing four different religions in its walls, which were rounded to avoid "denominational corners". "Solomon's Temple", as it was humorously known by residents, stood on its triangular traffic island at the intersection of Main, Regent, and Kloof roads, a centre of the Sea Point community, until it was destroyed by the city council in the 1930s. The suburb was later classed by the Apartheid regime as a whites-only area, but this rapidly changed in the late 1990s with a rapid growth of Sea Point's black and coloured communities. Ships entering the harbour in Table Bay from the east coast of Africa have to round the coast at Sea Point and over the years many of them have been wrecked on the reefs just off-shore. In May 1954, during a great storm, the ''Basuto Coast'' (246 tonnes) ended up on the rocks within a few metres of the concrete wall of the promenade. A fireman who came to the assistance of the crew was swept off the wall of the swimming pool adjacent to the promenade by waves and was never seen again. The vessel was soon thereafter salvaged for scrap. In July 1966 a large cargo ship, the ''S.A. Seafarer'', was stranded on the rocks only a couple of hundred metres from the Three Anchor Bay beach. The stranding was the cause of one of Cape Town's earliest great environmental scares, owing to the cargo including drums of tetramethyl lead and

tetraethyl lead Tetraethyllead (commonly styled tetraethyl lead), abbreviated TEL, is an organolead compound with the formula Pb( C2H5)4. It was widely used as a fuel additive for much of the 20th century, first being mixed with gasoline beginning in the 192 ...

, volatile and highly toxic compounds that in those days were added to motor fuels as an anti-knocking agent. The ship was gradually destroyed by the huge swells that habitually roll in from the south Atlantic. Salvage from the ship can still be found in local antique shops. The area was historically classed as a "whites only" area only during the

apartheid Apartheid ( , especially South African English: , ; , ) was a system of institutionalised racial segregation that existed in South Africa and South West Africa (now Namibia) from 1948 to the early 1990s. It was characterised by an ...

era under the terms of the

Group Areas Act Group Areas Act was the title of three acts of the Parliament of South Africa enacted under the apartheid government of South Africa. The acts assigned racial groups to different residential and business sections in urban areas in a syste ...

, a series of South African laws that restricted urban areas according to racial classifications. Some black and

coloured Coloureds () are multiracial people in South Africa, Namibia and, to a smaller extent, Zimbabwe and Zambia. Their ancestry descends from the interracial mixing that occurred between Europeans, Africans and Asians. Interracial mixing in South ...

residents continued to live in pockets of the suburb during this era. The Twin Towers on Beach Road were built in the context of a "

white White is the lightest color and is achromatic (having no chroma). It is the color of objects such as snow, chalk, and milk, and is the opposite of black. White objects fully (or almost fully) reflect and scatter all the visible wa ...

housing crisis" in racially segregated Cape Town in the 1960s and 1970s. In the 1970s the National Party initiated several planning interventions, including the suspension of the city's zoning rules with regards to building height for developers willing to build housing in white Group Areas. In the early 1970s, the iconic 23-storey Ritz Hotel was built in Sea Point, with a revolving restaurant. Prior to the development of the

V&A Waterfront The V&A Waterfront, often referred to as The Waterfront and The V&A, is a mixed-use suburb in Cape Town, South Africa, featuring upmarket residential apartments, a major shopping mall, a marina, and multiple large hotels. The Waterfront sit ...

, Sea Point was known as a "tiny Manhattan by the sea", known for its restaurants and entertainment. In the mid to late 1990s, the area experienced a rise in crime as drug dealers and prostitutes moved into the area. However, due to the aggressive adoption of broken windows municipal management spearheaded by then area councillor Jean-Pierre Smith, the crime rate declined throughout most of the 2000s. On the morning of 20 January 2003, nine men were killed in a brutal attack at the Sizzler's massage parlour in Sea Point. File:Camps Bay, Cape Town and Sea Point Electric Tramways map - ca. 1906.jpg, Early map of Sea Point and its infrastructure, c. 1906 File:Cape 1st Class (4-4-0T) 1875 no. 4.jpg, Cape 1st Class (4-4-0T) 1875 no. 4 File:Round Church or Solomons Temple - Sea Point Cape Town - 1906.jpg, Round Church or Solomons Temple, 1906 File:Graaf's Pool, Sea Point, Cape Town.jpg, Graaff's Pool in 2020, shot on Kodak Ektar 100

Layout

Sea Point is a suburb of Cape Town and is situated on a narrow stretch of land between Cape Town's well known Lion's Head to the southeast and the Atlantic Ocean to the northwest. It is a high-density area where houses are built in close proximity to one another toward the surrounding mountainside. Apartment buildings are more common in the central area and toward the beachfront. An important communal space is the beachfront

promenade An esplanade or promenade is a long, open, level area, usually next to a river or large body of water, where people may walk. The historical definition of ''esplanade'' was a large, open, level area outside fortification, fortress or city walls ...

, a paved walkway along the beachfront used for strolling, jogging, or socialising. Along the litoral of the Sea Point promenade, the coastline has varied characteristics. Some parts are rocky and difficult to access, while other parts have broad beaches. Sea Point beach adjoins an Olympic-sized seawater swimming pool, which has served generations of Capetonians since at least the early 1950s. Further toward the city is a beach known as Rocklands. Adjoining Sea Point is Three Anchor Bay. The beaches along this stretch are in the main covered with mussel shells tossed up by the surf, unlike the beaches of Clifton and Camps Bay, which are sandy. The rocks off the beaches at Sea Point are in large part late Precambrian metamorphic rocks of the Malmesbury formation, formed by low-grade metamorphism of fine-grained sediments. The site is internationally famous in the

history of geology The history of geology is concerned with the development of the natural science of geology. Geology is the scientific study of the origin, history, and structure of the Earth. Antiquity In the year 540 BC, Xenophanes described fossil fish a ...

. A plaque on the rocks commemorates

Charles Darwin Charles Robert Darwin ( ; 12 February 1809 – 19 April 1882) was an English Natural history#Before 1900, naturalist, geologist, and biologist, widely known for his contributions to evolutionary biology. His proposition that all speci ...

's observation of the rare geological interface, where granite, an

igneous rock Igneous rock ( ), or magmatic rock, is one of the three main rock types, the others being sedimentary and metamorphic. Igneous rocks are formed through the cooling and solidification of magma or lava. The magma can be derived from partial ...

, has invaded, absorbed, and replaced the Malmesbury formation rocks. There are extensive beds of kelp offshore. Compared to the

False Bay False Bay (Afrikaans: ''Valsbaai'') is a body of water in the Atlantic Ocean between the mountainous Cape Peninsula and the Hottentots Holland Mountains in the extreme south-west of South Africa. The mouth of the bay faces south and is demarc ...

side of the Cape Peninsula, the water is colder (11–16 °C). Graaff's Pool, a beachfront tidal pool partially demolished in 2005, was the subject of a short film entitled "Behind the Wall", which contrasted the pool's origin story of Lady Marais, paralysed from the waist down from childbirth, whose husband built the pool for her as a private bathing area in the 1930s, and the Sea Point gay scene, which adopted the pool as a cruising ground between the 1960s and the 2000s.

Transportation

The suburb is served by the MyCiTi bus rapid transit system. The 108 and 109 services take passengers to Hout Bay,

and

Adderley Street Adderley Street is a street in the Cape Town CBD, central business district (CBD) of Cape Town, South Africa. It is considered the main street of the area. The street bisects the CBD. It runs from the Parliament of South Africa at the north, pa ...

in downtown Cape Town.

Houses of worship

Jewish congregations

*The Marais Road Shul, formally known as the Green & Sea Point Hebrew Congregation,

Orthodox Jewish Orthodox Judaism is a collective term for the traditionalist branches of contemporary Judaism. Theologically, it is chiefly defined by regarding the Torah, both Written and Oral, as literally revealed by God on Mount Sinai and faithfully tra ...

congregation on Marais Road, in 1994 it had the largest Jewish congregation in the Southern Hemisphere * Beit Midrash Morasha, an

congregation on Arthur's Road *Ohr Somayach,

congregation on St John's Road and branch of

Ohr Somayach, Jerusalem Ohr Somayach (also Or Samayach or Ohr Somayach International) is a yeshiva based in Jerusalem founded in 1970 catering mostly to young Jewish men, usually of college age, who are already interested in learning about Judaism. It is known as a " ba ...

with a

Baal teshuva In Judaism, a ''ba'al teshuvah'' (; for a woman, , or ; plural, , , 'owner of return God or his way]') is a Jew who adopts some form of traditional religious observance after having previously followed a Jewish secularism, secular lifestyle or ...

tradition *Sephardi Hebrew Congregation,

congregation on Regent's Road with a Sephardi tradition *

Chabad Chabad, also known as Lubavitch, Habad and Chabad-Lubavitch (; ; ), is a dynasty in Hasidic Judaism. Belonging to the Haredi (ultra-Orthodox) branch of Orthodox Judaism, it is one of the world's best-known Hasidic movements, as well as one of ...

Centre of Cape Town,

congregation on St John's Road Reform Jews living in the area are served by Temple Israel, an affiliate of the South African Union for Progressive Judaism, on Upper Portswood Road in neighbouring Green Point

Christian congregations

*Common Ground Church Sea Point meets at the same venue as Sea Point Congregational Church, a

Christian A Christian () is a person who follows or adheres to Christianity, a Monotheism, monotheistic Abrahamic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus in Christianity, Jesus Christ. Christians form the largest religious community in the wo ...

church at the corner of Main Road and Marais Road *Joshua Generation Church Sea Point, an

Evangelical Evangelicalism (), also called evangelical Christianity or evangelical Protestantism, is a worldwide, interdenominational movement within Protestantism, Protestant Christianity that emphasizes evangelism, or the preaching and spreading of th ...

church that meets at Sea Point High School at 5 Norfolk Road *Life Church (part of the

Assemblies of God The World Assemblies of God Fellowship (WAGF), commonly known as the Assemblies of God (AG), is a global cooperative body or communion of over 170 Pentecostal denominations that was established on August 15, 1989. The WAGF was created to provi ...

movement), an Evangelical church on Main Road *Sea Point Evangelical Congregational Church, an Evangelical church on Main Road *Sea Point Methodist Church, a

Methodist Methodism, also called the Methodist movement, is a Protestant Christianity, Christian Christian tradition, tradition whose origins, doctrine and practice derive from the life and teachings of John Wesley. George Whitefield and John's brother ...

church on Main Road *Church of the Holy Redeemer, an

Anglican church Anglicanism, also known as Episcopalianism in some countries, is a Western Christianity, Western Christian tradition which developed from the practices, liturgy, and identity of the Church of England following the English Reformation, in the ...

on Kloof Road *St James the Great Anglican Church, an

on St James Road *New Apostolic Church Sea Point, a New Apostolic church on Marais Road *Our Lady of Good Hope Catholic Church (formerly St Francis Church), a

Catholic church The Catholic Church (), also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the List of Christian denominations by number of members, largest Christian church, with 1.27 to 1.41 billion baptized Catholics Catholic Church by country, worldwid ...

on the corner of St Andrews Road and Beach Road

Education

Schools in the area include Sea Point Primary School and Sea Point High School (formerly Sea Point Boys' High School) founded in 1884, and Herzlia Weizmann Primary. The French School of Cape Town opened on 14 October 2014 after an R18m upgrade of the primary school of the old Tafelberg Remedial School's campus.McCain, Nicole.
SEA POINT WELCOMING THE FRENCH
" '' People's Post''. 13 February 2014. Retrieved on 22 January 2015. The primary school campus of the French school is in Sea Point.

In popular culture

*'' Life & Times of Michael K'', a 1983 novel by

J. M. Coetzee John Maxwell Coetzee Order of Australia, AC Fellow of the Royal Society of Literature, FRSL Order of Mapungubwe, OMG (born 9 February 1940) is a South African and Australian novelist, essayist, linguist, and translator. The recipient of the 2003 ...

begins and ends in Sea Point. *'' Ah, but Your Land Is Beautiful'', a 1983 novel by Alan Paton includes a description of Sea Point: "We are talking of fighting an election in Sea Point. It is probably one of the most favourable constituencies from our point of view, fairly affluent people with guilty consciences, a high percentage of Jewish voters, and a large number of retired business and professional men. There is probably a higher percentage of voters opposed to racial discrimination than anywhere else in South Africa." *'' Sea Point Days'', a 2008 documentary film directed by François Verster

Notable people

* John Whitmore, surfer, surfboard shaper, radio presenter, Springbok surfing team manager *

Anthony Sher Sir Antony Sher (14 June 1949 – 2 December 2021) was a British actor, writer and theatre director of South African origin. A two-time Laurence Olivier Award winner and a five-time nominee, he joined the Royal Shakespeare Company in 1982 and ...

, actor and writer. * David Bloomberg, mayor of Cape Town * Sally Little, professional golfer. *

, liberal Cape politician. * Colin Eglin, politician. * Gerry Brand, Springboks

rugby union Rugby union football, commonly known simply as rugby union in English-speaking countries and rugby 15/XV in non-English-speaking world, Anglophone Europe, or often just rugby, is a Contact sport#Terminology, close-contact team sport that orig ...

footballer. * David Rosen, fashion designer and artist. * Bob Newson, cricketer. * Karen Press, poet. * Jacobus Arnoldus Graaff, businessman and politician, bequeathed Graaff's Pool to the people of Cape Town. * Louise Smit writer of popular South African television shows, Wielie Walie and Haas Das. * Arno Carstens singer-songwriter. * Darrel Bristow-Bovey, writer

Coat of arms

The Green and Sea Point municipal council assumed a coat of arms in 1901.Western Cape Archives : Green and Sea Point Municipal Minutes (10 July 1901). The shield was divided vertically, one half depicting signal masts on Signal Hill, the other a golden lion's head, shoulders and forepaws; in the centre, near the top, was a small blue shield displaying three anchors. An imperial crown was placed above the shield.Murray. M. (1964). ''Under Lion's Head''. The coat of arms has been incorporated into the emblem of the Metropolitan Golf Club

References

External links

The Wreck of the S.A. ''Seafarer''Lance Real Estate Sea Point Property Review
{{Cape Town, communities Jews and Judaism in Cape Town Orthodox Jewish communities Orthodox Judaism in South Africa Suburbs of Cape Town