Former General Post Office, Colombo

Coordinates: 6°56′09″N 79°50′36″E / 6.9359°N 79.8434°E / 6.9359; 79.8434
Source: Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.

Former Colombo General Post Office
The General Post Office – Janadhipathi Mawatha (President's Street), Colombo Fort (c. 1900)
Map
General information
TypeGovernment office
Architectural styleEdwardian
Location17 Janadhipathi Mawatha, Colombo Fort
Town or cityColombo
CountrySri Lanka
Coordinates6°56′09″N 79°50′36″E / 6.9359°N 79.8434°E / 6.9359; 79.8434
Current tenantsvacant
Construction started29 August 1891 (1891-08-29)
CompletedJuly 1895 (1895-07)
CostRs. 372,961.65 (1895)
ClientCeylon Post and Telecommunications Department (Sri Lanka Post)
Technical details
Floor count2
Floor area1,721 m2 (18,524.7 sq ft)
Design and construction
Architect(s)Herbert Frederick Tomalin
Architecture firmPublic Works Department
Main contractorArasi Marikar Wapchi Marikar

The former Colombo General Post Office (abbreviated: GPO), at 17 Janadhipathi Mawatha,

Colombo Fort, was the headquarters of the Sri Lanka Post and the office of the Postmaster General
for over one hundred years, from 1895 until 2000.

History

The first permanent

National Museum of Colombo, Colombo Fort Clock Tower, former Colombo Town Hall, Galle Face Hotel and Colombo Customs building.[8][9]

Construction commenced on this two-storey

papier-maché enrichments.[12]
The ground floor contained the parcel and postage stamp counters, the money order and savings bank counters, the registration and poste restante counters. The offices of the Postmaster-General, Superintendent of Telegraphs and the Resident Postmaster's quarters were located on the second floor, together with the Telegraph Department and Telephone Exchange.[12]

The building served not only as the post office but also as the country's first telegraph and telephone exchanges,[13] the Ceylon Post and Telecommunications Department having acquired the Oriental Telephone Company in January 1896 for a sum of Rs. 42,666.[14][15] The first public telephone booth in the country was installed in the GPO on 16 August 1909.[16][17]

On 21 January 2000 the building was formally recognised by the

archaeological protected monument in Sri Lanka.[18]

The GPO was moved in May 2000, for security reasons during the Civil War to the current Sri Lanka Post headquarters,[11] a modern nine storey building, at 10 D. R. Wijewardene Mawatha (formerly McCallum Road), which also hosts the Postal Museum.[19][20] Sri Lanka Post was only given 24 hours to vacate the building, which was then occupied by the Presidential Security Division.[11]

The building was used to stage the fourth annual Colomboscope, a multi-disciplinary arts festival in August 2016. The event featured installations from Sri Lankan and International artists and performers.[21][22]

In June 2017 the United Postal Trade Union went on a three-day strike in order to stop the government's plans to sell the

Colombo Fort.[23][24] The strike was called off following written assurances being provided by the Government that they would address the union's concerns.[25]

See also

Further reading

  • Liyanage, Michael (1987). The History of the Sri Lanka Post Office: 1815-1987. Colombo: Union of Post & Telecommunication Officers, Sri Lanka.

References

  1. ^ "A glimpse of the earliest Ceylon stamps". Daily FT. 29 April 2017. Retrieved 19 February 2019.
  2. ISBN 9789559748335
    .
  3. ^ Dishan, Joseph (27 January 2019). "Sri Lanka Post: 200 years of stamping with excellence". Sunday Observer. Retrieved 18 February 2019.
  4. ISBN 9788120613355
    .
  5. ^ a b c d "The old General Post Office gets a facelift and hosts an International Arts Festival". Roar Media. 11 July 2018. Retrieved 18 February 2019.
  6. ^ a b "The Architectural mark left by three European Nations on one City". Time Out Sri Lanka. 4 January 2016. Retrieved 18 February 2019.
  7. ISBN 9780826455147. {{cite book}}: |work= ignored (help
    )
  8. ^ Mohan, Vasundhara (1987). Identity Crisis of Sri Lanka Muslims. Mittal Publications. p. 16.
  9. The Daily News
    . Retrieved 18 February 2019.
  10. ISBN 9788120613355
    .
  11. ^ a b c "Stamps of the Past". The Sunday Times. Retrieved 18 February 2019.
  12. ^ a b Skeen, George J. A. (1906). A Guide to Colombo, with maps. Colombo: A. M. & J. Ferguson. pp. 17–18.
  13. ^ "Ferguson's Ceylon Directory". Associated Newspapers of Sri Lanka. 1958: 373. {{cite journal}}: Cite journal requires |journal= (help)
  14. ISBN 9788120619302
    .
  15. ^ Hettiarachchi, Kumudini (16 September 2001). "Call from the past". The Sunday Times. Retrieved 20 February 2019.
  16. ^ "First public call box". The Sunday Times. 12 August 2007. Retrieved 18 February 2019.
  17. ^ Development, 1931-1981, Sri Lanka: Publication Depicting Public Sector Development in Sri Lanka to Commemorate the 50th Anniversary of Adult Franchise Introduced to Sri Lanka in 1931. Ministry of Plan Implementation. 1981. p. 212.
  18. The Gazette of the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka
    . 1116. 21 January 2000.
  19. ^ "When pigeons carried mail from place to place". Sunday Times (Sri Lanka). Retrieved 18 February 2019.
  20. ^ "Sri Lanka's snail mail history". Ceylon Today. Archived from the original on 2 June 2015. Retrieved 18 February 2019.
  21. ^ "Futuristic art takes centre-stage at Cinnamon Colomboscope 2016". Daily FT. 12 August 2016. Retrieved 19 February 2019.
  22. The Daily News
    . 22 July 2016. Retrieved 19 February 2019.
  23. The Daily News
    . Retrieved 19 February 2019.
  24. ^ "Talks collapse, postal unions to strike from Tuesday". The Sunday Times. 25 June 2017. Retrieved 19 February 2019.
  25. The Daily Mirror
    . Retrieved 21 February 2019.
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