Woodstock, Cape Town

Woodstock at a glance

Woodstock is a suburb of Cape Town, South Africa. It is located between the docks of Table Bay and the lower slopes of Devil's Peak, about 1 kilometre (0.6 mi) east of the city centre of Cape Town. Woodstock is served by Woodstock and Esplanade railway stations.
By the middle of the 19th century, especially after the arrival of the railway line, Woodstock had become a fashionable seaside suburb with cottages next to the sea and a beach which stretched until the Castle of Good Hope. After a brief stint as New Brighton the residents voted in 1867 at the Woodstock Hotel to change the area’s name to Woodstock.

Ease of access to the harbour and all major transport routes; increased industrialisation and a rapidly growing working class population meant that industrial activity flourished, permanently changing the nature of the suburb.

The face of Woodstock has changed dramatically over the last decade. Young professionals have been quick to take advantage of still affordable pretty Victorian semi-detached homes, many of which have been beautifully renovated and restored. Trendy restaurants, innovative media and other businesses, offices, shops and furniture showrooms have sprung up in cleverly converted and revamped warehouses, abandoned buildings and even a disused castle brewery. Woodstock today is a vibrant suburb combining a village atmosphere with a sense of inner-city living.With a number of new AAA grade developments such as The Boulevard and the District, Woodstock is now home to some of the major players in South African Advertising and Architecture such as Ogilvy, Quirk,99 Cents and Louis Karol as well as large corporate players such as Fedhealth, Macquarie Bank and Lusitania.