According to Modern Architecture Kuwait, a waterfront design competition held in the 1960s promised to reclaim “new land from the sea… by then filled with the demolished material of the old town. The 1951 Master Plan had defined several aspects of the city’s development, but not the sea front.” The 1961 proposals were never implemented but, “the competition had foreseen several further developments: such as the realization of the Gulf Road. It also paved the way for the 1976 Waterfront Project, which, when realized, reshaped the relationship between Kuwait and its coastline.” In 1978, the ambitious waterfront project was finally implemented, aiming to, “restore the sea to the city’s inhabitants after that access was broken by high-way construction. A continuous strip of 21 kilometers, from Ras-Al Salmiya to Shuwaikh, was segmented into twelve zones. Different points of interest, recreational spaces, and other public facilities were implemented along the waterfront. The focal major area was, and still is, the artificial Green Island. Along the pedestrian promenade, more structures were subsequently added in a random way since its inception.”

Here are some of those points of interest:

Shuwaikh Beach:

Harbor Walk:

The old harbor across from Bait Dickson:

The walkway in front of Souq Sharq:

Porto Ponas, a nice cafe right along the seafront:

The strip between the Kuwait Towers and the Army Officers Club, which has the Head of the Bridge and Dasman Beach:

Green Island & Halloween Beach:

Marina Beach:

Marina Walk:

Alblajat:

The images below come “Shipmasters of Kuwait” by Khaled Bourisly and detail some of the historical sites along the waterfront