European Watson’s Hotel British Era Bombay, 1907 Postcard
This is an old 1907 photo postcard of the Watson’s Hotel in Bombay or Mumbai. The structure was a cast-iron architectural wonder. It was also called the Esplanade Hotel after the name of the place. It became a bit infamous for its reputation of being strictly whites-only at the time.
The great Jamshetji Tata, the Parsi industrialist was said to have been denied entry. To make up for the slight, it is rumored that he built the Taj Mahal Palace Hotel in Bombay in 1903. This iconic hotel faced the Gateway of India.
See post- Rare Advertisement Taj Palace Hotel Bombay 1907.
Watson’s Hotel after its completion in 1869 became popular with the European elite crowd. After the completion of the Taj Mahal Hotel in 1903, Watson’s ironically began losing popularity.
Did you know- Watson’s was the first place in the country to host Lumière Brothers cinema screening in 1896.
From the collection- Prongs Lighthouse Bombay – Old Postcard With FDC 1900., Vintage Photo Maharaja of Bikaner with Lord Mountbatten., Vintage Book – Parry’s Of Madras By Hilton Brown
