Bombay Municipal Corporation Building, 1942 Photo
An old 1942 photo of the Municipal Corporation Building in Bombay (or Mumbai). A nice b & w view of a rain-soaked city with the Municipal Corporation Building in the background. Also visible are a lone double-decker tram and a horse carriage. This British-era gothic building is occupied by the Brihan Mumbai Municipal Corporation or BMC.
It is now a Grade II heritage building opposite the Victoria Terminus, now Chhatrapati Shivaji Terminus (or CST). Soon after the Victoria Terminus (VT) was completed in 1888, architect F W Stevens began on his next project. The project was the Bombay Municipal Corporation Building. The Presidency awarded the work to F W Stevens because of his exemplary work on the Victoria Terminus.
Also praiseworthy was his excellent work on the design of the Government House (Raj Bhavan) (completed in 1880). About the BMC building, Stevens studied the designs of the new town halls of Europe. He described the style of his building as “early Gothic with an oriental feeling”. He was the man behind other iconic structures in Bombay, like the Maharashtra Police headquarters, the Royal Alfred Sailor’s Home, the head offices of the BB&CI Railway at Churchgate, Oriental Life Assurance Offices at Flora Fountain, etc. Click on the photo for better view.
Did you know – the BMC building opened in 1893. It incorporated the latest technology at that time by fully electrifying the building. Even before the city received a steady electrical connection.
From the collection – Raja Ravi Varma’s “Mohini On A Swing” – Vintage Print 1930s., Arrival Of King George & Queen Mary In India, 1911., Tellicherry On The Malabar Coast – Old Print 1922., Byculla Station Waiting For The First Train 1853, Old Print.
