Old Howrah Bridge British Era Calcutta, 1900 Photo
A 1900 photo of Calcutta’s old Howrah Bridge. Originally, Calcutta (Kolkata) had the famous Pontoon Bridge or the old Howrah Bridge across the Hooghly River. Which is shown on the left side of this photo. Constructed in 1874 it linked the two cities of Howrah and Calcutta. The use of this old bridge continued until 1943.
Because of the world war, Britishers realized the immense necessity for a more permanent steel girder bridge. The pontoon bridge was a floating type it rested on pontoons (hollow metallic cylinders) floating on water. Although it outlasted its worthiness and was still going well until dismantled. The New Howrah Bridge was commissioned in 1943 and again renamed in 1965 as Rabindra Sethu Bridge. In honour of the famous Bengali poet and Nobel Laureate Rabindranath Tagore. Today it is an iconic landmark of Kolkatta.
Read more Brief History of Howrah Bridge. See also my post-Vintage Photo Calcutta Hooghly River Street Vendor.
Did you know- after its in 1943, it was the 3rd longest cantilever bridge in the world. Although today it is the sixth-longest.
From the collection- Raja Ravi Varma’s “Birth of Shakuntala” Oleograph 1894., Antique Print View of Bombay Showing The Fort., Antique Print Opening Of The Madras Railway