On Sunday 26 July, 2026, 38 members and friends of the Durban Art Deco Society undertook a walk through the back streets of Durban's South Beach area. Years ago this was a busy entertainment area with prestigious hotels and many smaller hotels and bars geared up for holiday makers and local revelers alike. The area still has a share of such venues, but more notable is the conversion of a number of the bigger buildings to student accommodation. In amongst this variety of buildings are several notable buildings from the 1930's in the Art Deco style.

The tour was guided by architect Nathan Francis, with enthusiastic participants negotiating the backstreets without any problems, but with some interesting revelations. Amongst these was the old Pioneer Lodge, 49 Tyzack Street. This has also done service as the Coogee Hotel, but is now defunct. We were fortunate on our walk that the caretaker, Linda Simon, gave us access to the building. The facade in Tyzack Street has Berea Style features, but a few Art Deco elements were noted in the interior.