Strand Road Kolkata With Horse-Drawn Tram, 1895 Postcard

nStrand Road Kolkata With Horse-Drawn Tram, 1895 Postcard

This is an old 1895 postcard of Calcutta’s or Kolkata’s horse-drawn tram. Strand Road or The Strand was a major boulevard. Running alongside the Hooghly River on one side and iconic landmarks on the other. Including Fort William, Port, Maidan, Eden Gardens, and so on. Ships would anchor at the harbour shown in the postcard. Also shown is a horse-drawn tram that roamed the streets from 1873 to 1901.

By 1901 the tramways were electrified. The construction of the Strand Road was completed in 1828 at a cost of 1.5 lakh rupees. The road was essentially created to further the development of Calcutta. Especially the Calcutta Harbour, Eden Garden, Fort William area etc. See also my post- Old Print – Eden Garden & Harbour Calcutta 1905.

The British government was short of funds and to alleviate the shortage a Lottery committee was set up in 1817, to add funds from the sale of public lotteries. It not only helped in the development of the Strand with this novel idea but also helped fund other future projects in the city under the British Indian government.

Today the five kilometre stretch of the Strand is a lot different than that was many years back, it is now disorganized and squalid, occupied by scores of hawkers and pavement dwellers. The historic warehouses along the banks of the River Hooghly once a part and parcel of the colonial period under the Portuguese, Dutch, and British are crumbling. Read more- Strand, Kolkata.

Did you know- the Kolkata Port is located inland nearly 200 km from the sea. 

From the collection- Raja Ravi Varma’s “Birth of Shakuntala” Oleograph 1894., Old Photo – Game Of Tennis British India 1885., 2 Vintage Postcards – Bombay Fort Traffic Scene 1942.,  Antique Map Plan Of Fort At Coylan