Panoramic View of Bombay’s Victoria Terminus & BMC, 1895
This rare 1895 photograph offers a striking panoramic view of Victoria Terminus in Bombay and the Bombay Municipal Corporation Building. The Victoria Terminus (Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj Terminus) rises prominently on the right with its grand Gothic Revival façade, turrets, and arched windows. On the left stands the imposing BMC building (now Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation), with its distinctive dome.
Both architectural marvels dominate the junction where two important colonial-era roads meet, Hornby Road (Dr. Dadabhai Naoroji Road) and Cruikshank Road (Mahapalika Marg).
The image also offers a fascinating glimpse into daily life in late 19th-century Bombay (Mumbai). Horse-drawn trams, visibly packed with passengers, pass through the junction. Pedestrians walking through in their traditional attire, while the wide roads remain free of motor vehicles.
Interestingly, advertisements for Nestlé Milk can be seen displayed on top of the tramcars, a reminder of early commercial advertisements in colonial India. Automobiles had not yet arrived at the time; they would only begin appearing in the early 1900s. The absence of cars gives the scene a spacious and almost serene quality compared to the constant traffic that defines the area today.
Victoria Terminus, completed in 1887 to commemorate Queen Victoria’s Golden Jubilee, became a defining symbol of British-era Bombay. Its elaborate stone carvings, stained glass, and Indo-Saracenic architectural elements made it one of the finest railway stations in the world. Today, as Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj Terminus, it remains a UNESCO World Heritage Site. It is now under the Central Railway; formerly, it was part of the Great Indian Peninsula Railway (GIPR).
Facing it, the BMC building stands as a powerful civic landmark, reflecting Venetian Gothic influences blended with Indian architectural elements. These imposing buildings created one of the most photographed and celebrated cityscapes of colonial Bombay.
This 1895 view of the Victoria Terminus-BMC junction reveals a city in transition, orderly, expansive, and defined by horse-drawn trams. Yet despite the passage of time, both heritage structures continue to define the skyline, preserving the architectural legacy of 19th-century Bombay. Click image to enlarge.
Did you know – both the imposing BMC and Victoria Terminus were designed by the renowned British architect F W Stevens.
