Hotel Taj Mahal & Building The Gateway Of India Bombay, 1920 PC
A rare 1920 photo postcard of the Hotel Taj Mahal and building of the Gateway of India in Bombay (Mumbai). The view shows the construction of the Gateway of India with the Taj Mahal Hotel in the background. The Gateway was completed in 1924, the Taj Hotel would have been 17 years old in 1920, it opened in 1903.
The site of the Gateway of India was at Apollo Bunder and its construction began in 1911. The memorial was built in honour of King George V and Queen Mary’s arrival to India in 1911. The royal couple had arrived for the Delhi Durbar. The protruding Apollo Bunder was too narrow to build the memorial, it was reclaimed to make it larger. And the position of the land was shifted slightly more to the north. Which is what you see today of the Apollo Bunder where the Gateway of India stands.
Did you know – the Elephanta Caves is just a boat ride away from the Gateway of India. The monument is surrounded by major attractions – the Marine Drive, the Taj Mahal Hotel, the Royal Bombay Yacht Club, and Bombay Harbour.
Past posts – Pensive Lady British India Watercolour Sketch, 1837., Old Park Avenue, Rajendra Maidan Stretch Ernakulam., Electric Trams For The City of Madras, Old Print 1973.
