Town Hall In Mumbai
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Main Entrance
Location:
Housing the Asiatic Society of Bombay, Town Hall is located in the Fort area of Horniman Circle, South Mumbai.
Significance:
This library has got over 800000 very old volumes.
Architecture:
Town Hall is conceivably the most majestic construction amongst the heritage constructions of Mumbai. The Town Hall houses the Asiatic Society of Mumbai located deep in the city's historic Fort area. The library was built on the Bombay Green and has an axial direction and west facing sight. Colonel Thomas Cowper, one of the Bombay Engineers, was the designer of the Town Hall, which is 200 feet long and 100 feet deep. Its entrance stands adorned with Ionic columns. The material for its construction was brought from England and the total cost of building came to somewhere about 500,000 pounds in the year1830. Designed as per the neo-classical style, the building of Town Hall leaves you mesmerized with its impressive columns and Grecian porticos. The pillared monument is even more significant for its exquisite edifice that has old wooden floors, spiral staircases, wrought iron loggias and superb marble statues of late benefactors of the Island City of India.
History:
In has rightly been praised by the grand structure of the building by Sir John Malcolm - the Governor of Bombay, who had said, "It is the most magnificent structure that taste and munificence combined have as yet erected in India". Thus, Town Hall is a place worth visiting in Mumbai.
Constructed somewhere near 1830, Town Hall has been profoundly influenced by Greek and Roman styles of architecture. Comprising a portico with eight Doric pillars, the building can be reached by taking a flight of 30 steps. The idea of the Town Hall was presented in the year 1811, at the behest of James McKintosh, the then Recorder of Bombay and resident of the Literary Society of Bombay. The society raised 10,000 rupees through a lottery to fund the construction of the hall, which was intended to serve as the venue of library and a museum along with a number of civic offices. However, the funds did not prove enough and the society had to approach the government for financing the rest of the cost. This whole process took ten years and finally led to the construction of the Town Hall that was completed in 1833.
Aim:
The main aim of Town Hall-Asiatic Library is to encourage research and sustain oriental arts, sciences and literatures.
Collection:
The Asiatic Society consists of city's largest library with a collection of 8, 00,000 antique volumes. Amongst the anthology, Dante's first edition copy of "Inferno" is one of the inestimable treasuries. The Society's museum has a significant numismatic collection of 1,000 ancient coins and a rare gold coin belonging to Akbar - the Mughal Emperor. Permission is required to take a glance of these materials. However, the public library is released to everyone and usually attracts scores of senior citizens, who come to read the local newspapers.
Timing: 10:30am- 5:30pm
Mon- Saturday
How to Reach:
This is easily reachable from anywhere in Mumbai by the means of taxi or cab. Once one is in Mumbai, there will be no difficulty in locating the library. One can catch a taxi or bus that will drop you very near to the library.
Contact:
Asiatic Society Library (Town Hall)
Town Hall, Fort
400 023 Mumbai, MH.
Tel. +912222660956
http://http://asiaticsociety.org