Madras Mount Road In Floods During Monsoon, 1900 Photo
A 1900 photo gives a rare glimpse of Mount Road in floods during the monsoon in Madras (Chennai). Mount Road was and still is one of the major arterial roads of Madras. The city was frequently affected by seasonal flooding at the time. The flooding was much reduced after the drainage and sewerage scheme designed by J W Madley was implemented in 1907. The building at the center of the “Y” section road is the Kardyl Building.
The road leading to the left off Mount Road is General Patter’s Road. The Kardyl was an Indo-Saracenic building, the deign was in vogue with British designers. The British firm W E Smith & Co had built the Kardyl in 1897. They were into medical drugs, medical instruments, optical dealers, and manufacturers of aerated water. They grew to become the biggest in this field in the Madras Presidency at the time.
The Kardyl Building sprang from the huge financial success of its vast and varied business interests. They had a magnificent showroom and medical rooms for doctors and dentists. It had living quarters for British staff and even a cafe and a bar. There was a lovely garden in front. Bharat Insurance Company took over the building after it changed ownership in the 1950s.
Did you know – that Mount Road was once a tree-lined stretch of elegant buildings over which towered the Kardyl Building, the cynosure of all eyes.
Past posts – ‘Farmhouse’ British-India Watercolour Painting 1940., Main Street Pune – Old Postcard 1910., Koonoor Pass (Coonoor) Nilgiris, Old Engraving 1840., Delhi Durbar Kingsway Railway Station – Old Photo 1911.
