First Line Beach, First Commercial Street, In Madras, 1885 Photo

First Line Beach, First Commercial Street, In Madras, 1885 Photo

An 1885 photo of the First Line Beach, the first commercial street in British-era Madras (Chennai). The First Line Beach or North Beach Road is now better known as Rajaji Salai. It was the first commercial street in Madras. Before that, commercial businesses were based inside the protective walls of Fort St George.

But by 1880, the Governor of Madras issued an order for the relocation of all commercial businesses from the confines of the Fort. The Madras Government had alternatively constructed the First Line Beach area for housing the displaced businesses. The street was close to the beach where the masula boats landed. The boats ferried passengers and goods from the ships to the shore. To give it permanence, a harbour was built in the 1860s close to the commercial street.

The customs house was relocated from the Fort to the First Line Beach. Bentinck’s building erected by the government, provided the facilities for housing the commercial establishments. Eventually, they outgrew the limited facilities of Bentinck’s building and moved out. Constructing their own larger business premises on the same street. Some of these were Parry & Co, Bank of Madras, Binny, Arbuthnot, etc. The Madras Supreme Court then occupied the space of Bentinck’s building. They moved out to their own premises at Esplanade in 1892. Click on the photo to enlarge.

Did you know – that First Line Beach was then just a beach, it was at the time equivalent of the Marina for Black Town (now George Town), and people used to flock there in the evenings.

Past India – Raja Ravi Varma’s Goddess Laxmi 2 Postcards., Carpentry In British Era Malabar, 1910 Postcard., Rare 1792 Newspaper Report On The Defeat of Tipu Sultan., Royal Train For Prince of Wales India Tour, 1905 Print.