Municipal Corporation Building Bombay, 1908 Postcard
Old 1908 photo postcard of the Municipal Corporation Building in Bombay, now Mumbai. Prominently located in South Mumbai opposite the Victoria Terminus or the Chhatrapati Shivaji Terminus. The building’s designer was F W Steven who had also designed the spectacular Victoria Terminus.
See my post Victoria Terminus Railway Station Bombay – 2 Old Photographs.
Lord Ripon the Viceroy at the time laid the foundation stone in 1884. The construction of this beautiful Gothic building was completed in 1893. It looks imposing standing tall with its onion-shaped domes. The central tower of the building rises to a height of 235 feet. This Municipal Corporation Building postcard shows busy traffic even in 1908.
The street looks crowded there is also a tram and a horsecart see photograph. Automobiles were a rare sight then since they did not make much of an appearance until later. Overhead tramcar cables can is also visible in the foreground. Also visible in the foreground is a gas streetlight that was common in Bombay till the early 1900s. The structure today is called the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation or BMC for short.
Read also Standing Tall Since 1893, The Iconic BMC Building Has A Rich History.
Did you know- Crawford Market in Mumbai was the first building to get electricity in India.
From the collection- Raja Ravi Varma’s “Birth of Shakuntala” Oleograph 1894., Buick Cars In Madras – Old Photo 1929., Swearing-In Of Lord Mountbatten At Delhi – Old Print 1947.,
