Bronson’s West End Hotel’s Detached Block, Bangalore, 1906 Postcard
A 1906 postcard of Bronson’s West End Hotel’s detached block. It captures one of colonial Bangalore’s most celebrated landmarks at a time when the city was rapidly transforming into one of British India’s premier military cantonments. This iconic hotel began life in 1887 not as a grand luxury establishment, but as a modest ten-room boarding house founded by the affable and enterprising Mrs. Bronson, a British resident of Bangalore.
The hotel expanded into the early 1900s with secondary detached blocks, such as the second-oldest block built around 1905, shown in this postcard. The name “West End” was part of the property’s title from the very beginning, when Mrs Bronson opened it as Bronson’s West End in 1887. By 1912, Spencer’s bought and renamed it Spencer’s West End Hotel.
Situated on Race Course Road at the western edge of the Bangalore Cantonment, hence the name “West End,” the little inn quickly earned a reputation for its hospitality. As Bangalore flourished with British officers, civil servants, traders, and travellers, the demand for accommodation soared, and the boarding house soon expanded into one of the city’s finest hotels by acquiring neighbouring buildings.
Spread across nearly 23 acres of lush gardens, the historic hotel has operated as the Taj West End since 1984, blending Victorian-era charm with modern luxury and standing as one of Bengaluru’s oldest continuously operating heritage hotels, a living reminder of the city’s colonial past.
Did you know – one of the most famous patrons of the hotel was Sir Winston Churchill, who dined at the West End when he came to India as a cigar-smoking war journalist.
