Marina Beach & Promenade British Era Madras – 3 Postcards 1900

Marina Beach & Promenade British Era Madras - 3 Postcards 1900

Marina Beach & Promenade British Era Madras - 3 Postcards 1900

Three postcards of Marina Beach and Promenade from British Era Madras (Chennai), date from between 1900, and 1920, one is from 1960. One of Madras’s seashores is India’s largest urban beach the Marina Beach. Stretching 13 km along the city’s eastern side. It connects Fort St George in the north to San Thome on the southern side.

Built by Mountstuart Elphinstone Grant-Duff Governor of Madras between 1881 to 1886. Mountstuart Elphinstone first visited the city in the 1870s. The barren seashore so captivated him that the first thing he did when he returned as the Governor was to beautify it. By 1884 he declared open the promenade.

The city greatly benefitted from this rather dismal beach to one of the most beautiful promenades in the world. He named it “Marina.” The first postcard (1900) possibly shows a near likeness to the promenade from its initial days. The scenes in the other two postcards (1920 & 1960) show minor changes otherwise almost the same as the 1900 postcard.

See older post Marina & Senate House Madras 1900s, 3 Old Postcards.

Did you know- that architectural historian Philip Davies described the Marina Promenade as “one of the most beautiful marine promenades in the world.”

From the collection- 1964 M. Suriyamoorthy Charcoal Art Abstract (#15)., Aerial View of Bombay Harbour & Docks – Old Print 1931., British Family At Dal Lake Colonial Era – Old Photo 1895., First Train In India Bombay to Thane – Old Print 1853.