GeorgeTown

Black town – As racist as it sounds was one of the most important places for the early British administration. Madras was founded 378 years ago 🎂 for trade and those beginnings in Fort St. George were dependent on what could be supplied by the first ‘Black Town’, where the High Court-Law College campus now is. After the French occupation and siege of Fort St. George, between 1746 and 1759 in two separate periods, this Black Town was razed and a new Black Town was developed north of Esplanade Road, now called N.S.C. Bose Road. This New Black Town continued to be the main supplier of goods to the merchants of the Fort, ‘White Town’, and, after being renamed George Town in 1911, a major importer of goods apart from prospering on exports. Till well after Independence, George Town remained the heart of business activities in South India.

This bustling business district soon became the headquarters for chaos, congestion and traffic 🚷. Despite the historical significance of this locality, it continues to be ignored by every government. George Town could very well be called as the financial hub 🏭 of the entire city and yet it remains in a dingy state. With the right infrastructure and regulations it could transform into a successful yet hassle free Commercial Street for both vendors and customers.

Source:The Hindu | S.Muthiah

Screw Pile Pier, 1860’s

Ports and harbours are signs of thriving economic activity in any civilisation. The ever bustling madras port was first suggested by warren Hastings in 1770 when he was posted here, who later became the first Governor General of India. However, it was not until the 1850s that work began on a pier to berth vessels following suggestions from the Madras Chamber of Commerce and Industry.
Till 1815, it was an open roadstead and exposed sandy coast, swept by occasional storms and monsoons🌊. At that time, the natural harbour was so shallow that ships had to anchor over 1 km offshore, and cargo was delivered to and from the shore in masula boats and  catamarans. Cargo losses were high so the government decided to build a pier. 

Governor Charles Trevelyan screwed down the first pile in 1859 ⚓ and the 1,000 feet long, 40 feet broad pier with a ‘T’-head 160 feet by 40 feet was built perpendicular to the shore, inaugurated for use on December 16, 1861.

A cyclone🌪️ on June 6, 1868 damaged this pier and another cyclone on May 2, 1872 wrecked it. The pier was out of operation for 15 months and by 1874, the pier was made operational again. 

Source: The Hindu | S.Muthiah | British Library.

High Court

The HIGH COURT of Judicature at Madras, one of the three High Courts in India established at the Presidency Towns by Letters Patent granted by Her Majesty Queen Victoria, bearing date 26th June 1862, work on the building had started in 1888. The great and imposing building, which houses the High Court at present, was formally proclaimed open by the Governor of Madras on July 12, 1892, and that the cost of the building was well near thirteen lakhs of rupees. The style of the building is Hindu-Saracenic. Almost all the material used in the construction of the building, with the exception of the heavy steel girders to carry the floor, and roof, was manufactured locally. The high court complex is an treasure trove of architectural marvels.

Source: Madrasmusings
Photo: Highcourt in 1905

Law College

The Law College began in 1855 when it was still in the campus of the presidency college. It was only 1891 that the principal, Reginald Nelson, felt his College should have premises of its own and Government agreed to his suggestion. The Law college campus was also designed by Henry Irwin who did a splendid job on the High Court building. Built in the style that harmonised with the Indo-Saracenic of the High Court building, it was ready for occupation by 1899. The site assigned for the Law College was at the other end of the High Court campus, the north-western corner which had been part of the ‘Guava Garden’ cemetery meant for the residents of Fort St. George.

Source: MadrasRediscovered

YMCA Building, 1900

YMCA- The Young Men’s Christian association in Muthialpet was one of the first buildings of Madras to be built with American Aid. The YMCA was a sandstone building built in the Jaipura-Jaina-style. The YMCA was established in the year by David McConaughy from the US who arrived in Madras in 1890 at the request of the Indian YMCA. A year after his arrival, He helped found the National Council of YMCA’s in Madras. It was in 1933 that the Association got its first Indian General secretary, G Solomon.

The original site of the YMCA activity in Madras, the Church of England’s temperance institute was acquired and the foundation for the new building was laid there in 1895. The building was designed by Government Architect G S T Harris under the advise of Governor Arthur Havelock and was built by Namberumal Chetty. It was the first public building in madras to be made entirely of stone and was opened in 1900 by Governor Havelock.

Source: Madras Rediscovered