Town Hall of Benguela through time

Benguela 1897–2015 19 photos of this spot

19 photographs taken at the same spot in Benguela, spanning 1897–2015 — 10 of them from before 1980. Line them up and watch the place change.

The Benguela railway station of the Caminho de Ferro da Catumbela, a Portuguese colonial line built between 1893 and 1901 to link Angola's coastal town of Benguela with the interior highlands.

Benguela railway station of the Caminho de Ferro da Catumbela (1893-1901) 1897 The Benguela railway station of the Caminho de Ferro da Catumbela, a Portuguese colonial line built between 1893 and 1901 to link Angola's coastal town of Benguela with the interior highlands.

EU: Benguella, ponta da Alfandega (1900) 1900 Ponta da Alfandega, the customs-house point in the coastal trading town of Benguela, Angola, photographed around 1900.

EU: [Instalações da Exposição Agrícolo-Industrial de Benguela] (1917) 1917 The grounds of the Agricultural and Industrial Exhibition held in Benguela, Angola, in 1917.

EU: Fachada de Cine Kalunga em Benguela (1967) 1967 The facade of the Cine Kalunga, a cinema in Benguela, Angola, photographed in 1967. Movie theaters such as this were fixtures of urban leisure in Angola's coastal cities during the late colonial period.

Benguela, Sombreiro 1970 A view of Sombreiro in Benguela, a coastal city in Angola, photographed around 1970 during the late Portuguese colonial period.

EU: Benguela: jardim (1971) 1971 A public garden in Benguela, Angola, photographed in 1971, not long before Angola's war of independence would reshape the city. Benguela's tree-lined public spaces were a legacy of its long history as a Portuguese colonial port.

EU: Benguela: Colégio das Irmãs (1971) 1971 The Colégio das Irmãs, a school run by Catholic religious sisters, photographed in Benguela, Angola, in 1971. Church-run schools of this kind were an established part of education in Portuguese Angola.

EU: Benguela: administração do Concelho (1971) 1971 The municipal council administration building of Benguela, Angola, in a 1971 photograph. As the seat of local government, the Concelho's offices oversaw civic affairs in what was then one of Angola's principal port cities.

EU: Benguela: estátua de Cerveira Pereira (1971) 1971 A statue in Benguela, Angola, honors Manuel Cerveira Pereira, the Portuguese captain credited with founding the city in 1617. This photograph of the monument dates to 1971.

EU: Benguela: vista parcial da cidade (1971) 1971 A partial view over Benguela, Angola, taken in 1971, showing part of the coastal city that grew around one of Angola's earliest Portuguese settlements.

Igreja Benguela, Angola 2008 A church in Benguela, Angola, appears in this 2008 photograph. Benguela was founded by Portuguese colonists in the early seventeenth century and grew into a major coastal port for the colony of Angola.

Paços do Concelho, Benguela 2008 The Paços do Concelho, or municipal town hall, of Benguela is shown in this 2008 photograph. The building reflects the Portuguese colonial architecture that shaped this Angolan port city over several centuries.

Banco Nacional, Benguela, Angola 2008 The Banco Nacional building in Benguela, Angola, is pictured in this 2008 photograph. Benguela's historic center retains a number of Portuguese colonial-era buildings from its long history as a coastal trading port.

Museu Nacional de Arqueologia Benguela Angola 2015 Benguela, a port city on Angola's Atlantic coast founded by Portuguese settlers in the early seventeenth century, houses the National Museum of Archaeology in one of its older colonial-era buildings. This 2015 photograph shows the museum, which holds artifacts relating to the region's precolonial and colonial past.

near the railway station in Benguela Angola 2015 A view near the railway station in Benguela, a Portuguese-founded port city on Angola's South Atlantic coast, photographed in 2015.

Benguela Railway Station 2015 Benguela's railway station serves this Angolan coastal city, founded by Portuguese settlers in the early 1600s and long a hub of maritime trade on the South Atlantic. Photographed in 2015.

Town Hall of Benguela 2015 The Town Hall, or Câmara Municipal, of Benguela occupies a colonial-era building in this Angolan port city on the South Atlantic coast. Photographed in 2015.

Palacio do Governo Benguela Angola 2015 The Palácio do Governo, or Government Palace, in Benguela houses provincial administrative offices in this Angolan coastal city dating to Portuguese colonial settlement. Photographed in 2015.

monument Benguela Angola 2015 A monument in Benguela, a historic Portuguese-founded port city on Angola's South Atlantic coast, photographed in 2015.