The General Post Office Plan British Era Madras, 1881 Print
A beautiful 1881 print of the General Post Office (GPO) with its floor plan in British Era Madras (Chennai). This print is from the British construction publication The Building News of Nov 18, 1881. It depicts the floor plan with an engraving of the proposed GPO. Design of the columns and arched windows are also seen.
A Britisher and a prolific designer, Robert Chisholm, designed the building. Since enemy attacks were almost non-existent from the late 1700s in British era Madras. Commercial establishments, private and government, were moved out from Fort St George in the early 1800s. They were mostly settled on the North Beach Road.
These are today, one of the finest buildings in Chennai. One of them being the Madras General Post Office. The magnificent red-painted 55,000 square feet building might be described as Victorian Gothic in style. This Chisholm-designed building, with its 125-feet tall twin towers, was built at a cost of about Rs 8 lakhs at the time. The construction work commenced in 1874 and was completed ten years later in 1884.
Did you know – the Madras Presidency’s postmaster general was given residential accommodation on the second floor of the GPO building.
Past posts – Raja Ravi Varma’s Portrait Photo, 1906 Postcard., Interior of The Tanjore Palace, 1890 Photo., Watering of South Parade Road Bangalore, 1907 PC., A Page On Calicut From A Rare 1713 Latin Book.