The Changing Face of Gibraltar

As a local born and raised in Gibraltar, I have seen it change and develop into a more modern city. Some of the biggest changes was the reclamation of land from the sea and the greater amount of high rise buildings that have appeared over the last 10 years. .

But this is not a new concept in Gibraltar as we have been reclaiming land from the sea for the past 30 – 40 years or even more.

So let’s look back to the not so distance past when a major project was already under way, this is the Westside project. This area was area of sea which is adjacent to town within the harbour, as can be seen on the photo below.

Gibraltar’s population was growing and the need for new housing projects arose but Gibraltar had no extra land for it. So the government started to reclaim land from the sea in an area we now know as Westside. Later on it became part of the city, now populated by a housing estate  -  some fetors still remain to mark where the sea once was. My favourite one is the old Montagu Bathing Pavilion.

Moving on to more recent times, in 1996 Main Street was given a much needed facelift and the street was closed to traffic, that’s right - you could drive down Main Street many years ago. The new Main Street was made to look old to match most of the old buildings that are still on it. I personally like it the way it is now.  Many years have passed since and there are more buildings being built and old ones being knocked down.

The biggest change of very recent times is Ocean Village and the Mid Harbour Estate, both of them very different to each other.

 Ocean Village was a major leap forward into the 21^st century as I think we needed a new modern marina and also a new leisure area for all to enjoy. Sometime when I walk down this area, I think one would be forgiven if you thought you were in  Marbella or Benalmedena in the Costa del Sol.

So in recent history Gibraltar changed quite a bit, even beyond recognition in some areas. I can only say I look forward to what the future holds and how much further Gibraltar will change within the next 10 – 20 years.