Art Deco Apartment Buildings Construction Bombay, 2 Photos 1939
Two small 1939 photographs of the Art Deco apartment buildings facing Marine Drive and the Back Bay in Bombay (Mumbai). One of the photos shows an Art Deco Building under construction, and the other shows a row of completed buildings. The Art Deco Buildings are now recognized as a UNESCO World Heritage Site.
The residential buildings were an integral part of the Bombay Backbay Reclamation Scheme. The Scheme was one of the largest urban engineering projects of colonial India. Between 1920 and the 1930s, vast sections of the Back Bay were reclaimed to create approximately 439 acres of new land, significantly expanding Bombay’s western shoreline and laying the foundation for some of the city’s most prominent neighbourhoods and landmarks.
Once the reclaimed land was ready for development, Bombay witnessed an extraordinary construction boom. Most of the city’s iconic residential apartment buildings rose in carefully planned phases during the 1930s and early 1940s, transforming the newly reclaimed coastline into one of the most prestigious urban districts of the era. Another iconic project that was part of the reclamation scheme was the creation of the Marine Drive and Promenade. Click image to enlarge.
Did you know – the project gave rise to two primary Art Deco zones in Mumbai: the blocks facing the western edge of the Oval Maidan and the sweeping curve of Marine Drive.
