The Vast Esplanade Outside Fort St George Madras, 1872 Photo
A rare 1872 photograph of the vast Esplanade outside Fort St George in Madras (Chennai). A corner of the walls of Fort St George is visible on the left. Beyond that, the River Cooum can be seen flowing in white. The Fort at that time had a sweeping view of the vast Esplanade (maidan), the front of which would be the Bay of Bengal.
In the background, the River Cooum flows like a ribbon of white. Military tents can be seen pitched in the foreground. There are some broad tree-lined paths near the tents. These paths are now the main streets of Madras City. One of them was the Esplanade Road, later known as China Bazaar Road, now known as the NSC Bose Road.
The foreground shows a partly visible path, which became the North Beach Road, now Rajaji Road. The Madras High Court would later come up a little to the north of Fort St George. Parry’s Corner would probably be the area where the tents were pitched. Faintly visible in the far left foreground are most likely Little Mount and St Thomas Mount near Guindy. Click image to enlarge.
Did you know – the original meaning of esplanade was a large, open, level area outside the fort or city walls to provide clear fields of fire for guns.
