The Government Secretariat Building Bombay, 2 Photos 1875
Two 1875 photos of the Government Secretariat during the British era in Bombay (Mumbai). The Secretariat is situated in a row alongside the Bombay High Court, the Rajabai Clock Tower, and the University. The row of buildings faces the Oval Maidan, it once had a beautiful view of the Back Bay. However, after the reclamation of portions along the Back Bay, the view got disrupted by the new commercial site west of the Oval Maidan.
The Bombay (Mumbai) Secretariat was completed in 1874. Designed by Captain Henry Sir Clair Wilkins in a Venetian Gothic style, in consultation with Governor Bartle Frere. Frere was the brain behind the transformation of Bombay into a European-like city during the colonial era. The Secretariat was a statement of the power that the government symbolized the strength of the British Raj.
Also read The Bombay that didn’t get built.
Did you know – the Secretariat is 470 feet long with 81-foot-wide wings in the shape of three sides of an octagon. A 170-foot-high tower dominates the building’s axis.
Past posts – Pensive Lady British India Watercolour Sketch, 1837., New Harbour Works At Madras or Chennai – Old Print 1880., Parvati Hill Pune – Old Postcard 1910., Fiat Trucks For British India Military, 1915 Postcard.
