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Home , Rajaji Hall, Ripon Building, Victoria Public Hall

HERITAGECHENNAI

. 1 The Senate House is the administrative centre of the in , . It is situated in Wallajah Road, along . Constructed by Robert Chisholm between 1874 and 1879, the . Contents Senate building is considered to be one of the best and oldest examples of Indo-Saracenic architecture in India. Robert Chisholm was a 19th- century British architect who is considered to be one of the pioneers of Indo-Saracenic architecture. Initially designing buildings using the- Re naissance and Gothic styles of architecture, Chisholm switched over to Senate House, University of Madras.03 Indo-Saracenic with the construction of the PWD buildings of the Chep- auk Palace in 1871. ...... 04 A saluting battery ...... 05 was present at the site prior to the con- railway station...... 06 struction of the Sen- ate House. Prior to the construction of Fort St. George ...... 07 the Senate House, university convo- Higginbotham's ...... 08 cations were held at Banqueting Hall (now ). During July 14-De- cember 21, 1937 the legislature of the met at the senate house.

HERITAGE . 02 . 03 The Ripon Building is the seat of the Chennai Corporation (Madras Corpo- ration) in Chennai (Madras), . It is a fine example of the Neoclas- The venue of the first cinema show in Chennai.Victoria Public Hall, or the Town Hall, is a historical building in Chennai, named after Victoria, sical style of architecture, a combination of Gothic, Ionic and Corinthian. Empress of India. It is one of the finest examples of British architecture The building is rectangular and is 85 metres (279 ft) long and 32 metres in Chennai and was built to commemorate the golden jubilee of Queen (105 ft) wide with a 43 metres (141 ft) central tower containing a clock 2.5 Victoria. It served as a theatre and public assembly room in the late 19th m (8.2 ft) in diameter. The first of its three floors has approximately 2,800 century and the early 20th century. It now houses the South Indian Ath- m2 (30,139 sqft) of space. letic Association Club.

In a meeting held in March 1882 at the Pachaiyappa’s Hall in George Town by some leading citizens, the decision to construct a town hall for Madras was taken.

The ground floor of the building has a built-up area of 13,342 sqft and the first floor has a built-up area of 12,541 sq ft. The two large halls in the ground and the first floors were built to accommodate 600 persons the first of its three floors has approximately 2,800 m2 (30,139 sqft) of each, while a wooden gallery in the eastern end has seating arrange- space. ment for more than 200 persons. The structure consists of arcaded ve- The walls were constructed with stock bricks, set and plastered with lime randahs along the northern and southern sides in the hall on the first mortar and the roof is supported with teak wood joists. The original floor- floor supported on sleek Corinthian stone columns, a square tower that ing of the ground floor was Cuddapah Slate that has been replaced with is three storeys high, and a carved pyramidal roof. There is also an in- marble. tricately carved terracotta cornice, which resembles Islamic calligraphy, One of the main attractions of the building is the Westminster Quarter atop the tower.The hall has four staircases, of which three lead to the chiming clock. This was installed by Oakes and Co. in 1913. The clock has hall on the first floor and one to the balcony, and four turrets. a mechanical key system, which is wound every day. There are four bells, which were cast by Gillet and Johnston in 1913.

HERITAGE HERITAGE . 04 . 05 Third oldest railway station in the country and the oldest in South India First major British settlements in India, leading to the foundation of the city of Madras. One of the 163 notified areas (megalithic sites) in the state of Tamil Nadu. Fort St George (or historically, White Town) is the name of the first English (later British) fortress in India, founded in 1644[1] at the coastal city of Madras, the modern city of Chennai.

The construction of the fort provided the impetus for further settlements and trading activity, in what was originally an uninhabited land. Thus, it is a feasible contention to say that the city evolved around the fortress. The fort currently houses the Tamil Nadu legislative assembly and other of- 1856 - Till now ficial buildings. The fort is one of the 163 notified areas (megalithic sites) It is the oldest railway station currently operational in India (the original in the state of Tamil Nadu. structures of the two older stations, Bombay and Thane, are no longer The fort currently houses the Tamil Nadu legislative assembly and operational) and the first railway station of South India.The first train other official buildings. of South India started operating in June 1856 from Royapuram railway station. The station also remained the headquarters of the Madras and Southern Mahratta Railway till 1922, when the headquarters was shifted The Fort is a stronghold with six-me- to . Since the original structures of Bombay and Thane stations no ter high walls that withstood a num- longer exist, Royapuram station remains the oldest railway station in the ber of assaults in the 18th century. It entire subcontinent.Royapuram railway station is the place from where briefly passed into the possession of the laying down of the second railway line of the South Asia commenced the French from 1746 to 1749, but in 1853. was restored to Great Britain under Royapuram was selected as the location for the new station as it was on the Treaty of Aix-la-Chapelle, which the edge of a settlement of British traders and natives near Fort St. George. ended the War of the Austrian With the opening of the main terminus, the Royapuram station, on 28 Succession. June 1856 by the then Governor Lord Harris, the railway line was opened for traffic on 1 July 1856. On the inaugural day, two servicesRoyapuram to Ambur and Royapuram to -were operated. The first train, manu- factured by Simpson and Company, started its journey with the Governor The fort is one of the 163 notified areas (megalithic sites) in the and 300 European people from Royapuram to Walajapet and a stately state of Tamil Nadu. dinner was arranged in Ambur. HERITAGE HERITAGE . 06 . 07 . FEW INTERESTING FACTS ABOUT MADRAS

The first and the oldest existing book shop in India. The Higginbotham’s is an Indian company of book Chennai region has the oldest rocks in the country sellers and publishers based dating back to a billion years in the city of Chennai. The main bookstore at Mount Road, building is the second largest ju- Chennai has the reputation of be- dicial complex in world after the one in London ing India’s oldest bookshop in exist- ence. An English Marina Beach is the second longest beach in the librarian named world Abel Joshua Higgin- botham established Higginbotham’s after Bus transportation was introduced by year 1925 in allegedly arriving in India as a British stowa- Chennai. Interestingly Flight service was introduced way. In the 1840s he found in 1917 itself. employment as a librarian with a bookstore named Weslyan Book Shop run by Protestant missionaries. However, the store suffered heavy losses and the missionaries who ran the business de- Chennai is the only Indian city to be attacked dur- cided to sell their shop for a low price. Higginbotham purchased the busi- ing world war 1 ness, set up his own store and called it “Higginbotham’s” in the year 1844.

Higginbotham purchased the business, set up his own store and called it “Higginbotham’s” in the year 1844. Higginbotham’s is, therefore, India’s oldest bookstore in existence. It soon gained a reputation for quality. John Murray, in his Guidebook to the Presidencies of Madras and Bombay in 1859, describes Higginbotham’s as the “premier bookshop of Madras”.

HERITAGE . 08 . 09