North Beach Road, The Business District of British Era Madras, 1890 Photo
This rare 1890 wide-angle photograph captures North Beach Road in Madras (now Chennai), the business district of the British colonial era. The photo was likely taken from the Madras Iron Pier Harbour. Two massive cranes can be seen on either side of the frame.
North Beach Road was also known as First Line Beach; today, it is now better known as Rajaji Salai. On one side, it faced the Madras Iron Pier and the Bay of Bengal, while on the other, it bordered Black Town. By around 1800, commercial businesses began moving out of Fort St. George. They settled along this stretch, transforming it into the mercantile business heart of Madras.
The Iron Pier would be established as a full-fledged harbour by the 1900s. The photo shows several commercial buildings during the colonial period. In the decades that followed, landmark institutions such as the General Post Office, Parry’s Corner, the Madras High Court, and the Bank of Madras were established along the North Beach Road. Click photo to enlarge.
Did you know – Black Town was where the natives stayed, and it was renamed George Town. This was after the visit of George, Prince of Wales, to Madras in 1904.
Past posts – Raja Ravi Varma’s Portrait With Kaiser-i-Hind-Medal, 1905 Photo., Theatre In British India Mumbai- Old Postcard 1895.
