Elphinstone Bridge In British Era Madras, 1905 Postcard
View of the Elphinstone Bridge in British Era Madras (now Chennai) in this old 1905 postcard. Once the fear of local and foreign invaders died down after 1800, the city’s growth took off at a rapid rate. Businesses and residential addresses streamed out of the confines of the Fort St George walls. Businesses moved more towards the north. Such as the First Line Beach area in George Town.
As for the residential areas, British officials were more inclined towards Mount Road and the southern parts of Madras City. Mount Road would also form as the European shopping center. Further south, Adyar was considered the outskirts of the city. It was interspersed with forests and rice fields at the time. It was a perfect location for Britishers to go hunting. But in the course of time, they would take residence there steadily. Even the British administration’s Government House was shifted to Guindy near Adyar.
Thus travelling from Fort St George to Adyar one needed to cross two rivers. One was the River Cooum and the other was the Adyar River. Spanning the Cooum was a bridge that already existed from 1800, known as the Napier Bridge. The Elphinstone Bridge was built in 1840 to span the Adyar River. Constructed during the tenure of Lord Elphinstone then Governor of Madras after whom it was named. Remarkably, the arched bridge was shut down in 1973, after a new one was constructed.
Did you know – that the construction of the bridge was done by the Madras Engineers of the East India Company’s British Indian Military.
Past posts – Oil Painting of Bunch of Roses British India, 1940., View of Cumballa Hill Mumbai, Old Photo 1890., In Honor of Queen Victoria Bombay, Old Print 1887., Beautiful Motor Cars In British India Era, 1908 PC.