Making of Marine Drive Art Deco Buildings Bombay, 2 Photos 1935
These two rare photographs document the transformation of Marine Drive in Bombay (now Mumbai) during the peak of the Art Deco movement. The first image, dated 1935, captures an Art Deco building along Marine Drive still under construction, offering a glimpse into the city’s rapid architectural modernization. The second photograph, taken in 1937, shows the completed and continuous row of elegant Art Deco apartment blocks lining the seafront.
Marine Drive, officially known today as Netaji Subhash Chandra Bose Road, curves gracefully along the Arabian Sea from Nariman Point to Malabar Hill. Running parallel to the promenade is one of the world’s most extensive collections of sea-facing Art Deco buildings. Designed during the 1930s and 1940s, these structures reflect Bombay’s embrace of modernity, influenced by global architectural trends while adapted to tropical living.
The buildings are distinguished by clean geometric lines, curved balconies, horizontal bands, and streamlined façades. Constructed to a uniform height of five storeys, the seafront apartments created a visually harmonious skyline, a deliberate planning choice that enhanced both aesthetics and sea views.
Today, the Marine Drive Art Deco precinct, recognized as part of Mumbai’s UNESCO World Heritage ensemble, stands as a lasting reminder of the city’s architectural golden age and its transition into a modern metropolis. Click first photo to enlarge.
Also read Dreaming of India- how Bombay used Art Deco to discover a new rendition of a nascent India.
Did you know that Mumbai has the second-largest Art Deco buildings in the world, after Miami.
Past posts – Vintage Raja Ravi Varma “Shivaji” Oleograph Print., Parvati Hill Pune – Old Postcard 1910., New Harbour Works At Madras or Chennai, 1880 Print., View of Suratta or Surat & Fort, Antique Plan 1720.
