George Town, Chennai
George Town (or) Muthialpet.
Parry's Corner, Broadway | |
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Neighbourhood | |
Chennai Central | |
Planning agency | CMDA |
Civic agency | Chennai Corporation |
Website | www |
George Town is a neighbourhood in
History
During the colonial period, the area in and around Muthialpet was renamed as "George Town" by the British in 1911, in honour of
The first settlement of the city of Madras began here, near the fort.
By the early 18th century, growing population and commercial activities resulted in expansion to neighbouring areas. In 1733, the weaving community started to settle down in
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Plan of Fort St George and the city of Madras in 1726.
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Hand-coloured photograph of Black Town taken in c.1851 by Frederick Fiebig.
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Painting titled 'Black town of Madras' by Sears, Robert (1810-1892).
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The Bank of Madras, c. 1900.
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The Law College at George Town, c. 1905.
When the
In 1772, the first organised water supply of Madras began with the Seven Wells Scheme.[5] On one occasion, Mysore ruler Hyder Ali's troops even tried to poison the water source one night.[4]
In the following centuries,
Several Tamil refugees from Burma, who fled Myanmar during the early sixties, arrived in George Town. In 1969, the Burma Bazaar, a market selling imported foreign goods in shops on pavements, was established by these Burmese refugees-turned-entrepreneurs.[7]
Religions and holy shrines
George Town has a rich congregation of shrines of different faiths within its boundaries. The first Hindu temples of British Madras were built in this neighbourhood between 1640 and 1680. Many of the temples were built since then by the leading merchants of the city, mostly dubashes (middlemen) of British merchants and business establishments. Several of the streets in the neighbourhood are named after these dubashes.[8]
The city's first Jain temples were built in the central part of the western half of the neighbourhood occupied by settlers from Rajasthan and Saurashtra, now known as Sowcarpet. Today, festivals such as Holi, Diwali, and Ganesh Chathurthi are celebrated in the North Indian style.[8]
The first mosque in the neighbourhood was built in the 1670s on Moor Street. The mosque, however, does not exist today. The oldest surviving mosque is the huge Masjid Mamoor in Angappa Naicken Street, which was built in the eighteenth century.[8]
The first Madras Synagogue was built in Coral Merchant Street, which had a large presence of Portuguese Paradesi Jews in the sixteenth, seventeenth and eighteenth centuries. The Madras Synagogue doesn't exist today, but there is said to be a "handful" of Jews (not including people with Jewish lineage) in Madras city today.
The oldest church is the Armenian Church on Armenian Street. The Cathedral of St Mary of the Angels located next to the church has its presence since 1642. However, the first Catholic place of worship in the neighbourhood was built before the St. Mary's cathedral. Protestant churches, however, were built only in the nineteenth century, with the first English Protestant Church built in 1810 on Davidson Street.[8]
The Muthialpet area, the western part of George Town extending northwards from the Madras High Court, is one of the 163 notified areas (megalithic sites) in the state of Tamil Nadu.[9]
Demographics
Residents of George Town in earlier days were mainly
Geography
George Town extends roughly from
Roads and streets
Major roads of the neighbourhood include
Parry's Corner
Parry's Corner | |
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Neighborhood | |
Coordinates: 13°05′20″N 80°17′25″E / 13.08882°N 80.29038°E | |
Country | India |
UTC+5:30 (IST) | |
PIN | 600001 |
Planning agency | CMDA |
Parry's Corner (
The place is an important center for commercial banking and trading, and also a major hub for the intracity bus service. It is one of the most congested areas in the city. The area has many popular schools like St. Mary's Anglo-Indian Higher Secondary School, St. Columban's Anglo-Indian Higher Secondary School. The Anderson Church is the oldest and most prominent church in the region.
Streets and specialities
Several streets in the neighbourhood is known for their dedicated businesses and services. The following table lists some of the streets and the chief services they are known for.
Street name | Speciality |
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Mannadi Street | Textiles, imported goods, eateries |
Moore Street | Cereals and pulses, hotels and lodges |
Angappa Naicken Street | Masjid, textile, eateries |
Burma Bazaar | Grey market for electronic goods, cameras, luggage, perfumes and accessories |
Linghi Chetty Street | Steel hardware, electric motors and pump sets |
Thambu Chetty Street | Hardware, ceramic tiles and sanitary ware |
Sembudoss Street | Steel sheets and rods, pipes |
Broadway | Cycles and optical goods |
Anderson Street | Stationery |
Godown Street | Textiles |
Govindappa Naicken Street | Electrical goods, dry fruits |
Nainiappa Naicken Street | Chemicals and surgical instruments, pharma, plywood, glass, laminates, photo frames |
Coral Merchant Street | Transport and shipping offices |
Savarimuthu Street | Warehouse, storage godowns and toiletries consumables |
Evening Bazaar | Household appliances and domestic utensils |
Kasi Chetty Street | Imported goods, gift items, toys, perfumes, bags, and novelties[2] |
Bunder Street | Fruits, books, stationery and crackers |
Badrian Street | Flowers, crackers |
Elephant Gate | Textiles, chocolates |
Rajaji Salai | Banks, trading offices, shipping corporations |
Architecture
Being one of the oldest settlements in the modern city of Chennai, George Town remains a classic example of a confluence of different architectural styles. The neighbourhood is known for several classic styles of buildings such as
Buildings and landmarks
This area has many heritage and modern buildings on
Land use
The land use in George Town primarily comprises residential and mixed-residential zones. It is classified as a 'continuous building area', permitting structures of ground-plus-one floor, with a floor space index of 1.5. As of 2014, the business district has more than 14,000 buildings with around 25,000 property tax assessees.[14]
All buildings in George Town have been found in violation of development regulations, with several buildings found to have been constructed without obtaining building approval from the corporation.[14]
Economy
George Town is the birthplace of the economy of the city that began to flourish in the 17th century. Being the primary neighbourhood of the then burgeoning city of Madras, George Town houses several commercial establishments of national importance. It long housed the
Banking
The neighbourhood and the surrounding areas were home to several Nattukottai Chettiars or Nagarathars, who offered banking services to the public in the city before the establishment of modern commercial banks. They both offered loans to and accepted money deposits from the public, besides offering loans to the agricultural labourers. Several banking and financial offices were housed in heritage structures from the Colonial era, clustered chiefly around North Beach Road, many of which continue to exist to the present day.[15]
The first European-style banking system in India was started in George Town with the establishment of the 'Madras Bank' on 21 June 1683, almost a century before the establishment of the first commercial banks, such as the Bank of Hindustan and the General Bank of India, which were established in 1770 and 1786, respectively. However, the bank proved a failure.
Transportation
George Town remains the geographical and geometrical focal point of Chennai where all the radial roads and railroads of the city converge. The arterial roads, namely, North and South Beach Roads,
The intercity and interstate express bus terminus originally functioned at the Broadway terminus near Madras High Court in an area covering about 1.5 acres.[19] With increasing transportation needs, the terminus was shifted to the new premises covering 36.5 acres at Koyambedu in 2002 constructed at a cost of ₹ 1,030 million.[20][21]
In January 2013, further to the public interest litigation petition filed in the court, the
Education
Colleges and universities
George Town is home to various government-run colleges and institutions. Dr. Ambedkar Law College, initially known as Madras Law College, was established in 1891. The medical college of the Government Stanley Medical College and Hospital was established in 1938 although the hospital was established by the turn of the 19th century. The Government Dental College and Hospital was established in 1953. Bharathi Women's College is located in the northern side of the neighbourhood.
Primary and secondary schools
It has many premier schools which includes St. Mary's Anglo-Indian Higher Secondary School, St Francis Xavier Anglo-Indian Hr secondary school, St. Columban's Anglo-Indian Higher Secondary School and other schools including The Muthialpet Higher Secondary School, St.Gabriel's Higher Secondary School, Ramiah Girls High School, MEASI Matriculation Higher Secondary School, Muthialpet Girls School, Bishop Corrie Higher Secondary School and Dominic Savio School.
Developments
Although George Town is the origin of the modern city of Chennai and remained the chief commercial hub of the city till the early 20th century, the city's central business district gradually moved towards the south since the mid-20th century, presently lying at the
Political awareness
Political awareness among citizens of George Town is very high. Almost all leaders of national and state political parties used to hold street meetings contacting people and propagating their aims and principles. Leaders such as
Location in context
See also
- Timeline of Chennai history
- History of Chennai
References
- ^ Muthiah, S. (1 January 2012). "Madras miscellany: A forgotten name-change". The Hindu. Chennai. Retrieved 28 April 2012.
- ^ a b "Top 5 streets of George Town in Chennai". The Hindu. Chennai: Kasturi & Sons. 28 August 2017. Retrieved 24 September 2020.
- ^ "Structure of Chennai" (PDF). Chapter 1. CMDA. Archived from the original (PDF) on 26 August 2013. Retrieved 24 February 2013.
- ^ a b c TNN (27 August 2010). "Chennai High: Where history beckons". The Times of India. Chennai. Archived from the original on 16 February 2013. Retrieved 19 January 2013.
- ^ "1751 A.D. to 1800 A.D." History of Chennai. ChennaiBest.com. Archived from the original on 6 June 2012. Retrieved 20 January 2013.
- ^ a b "Chenna kesava perumal temple, Chennai". Official temple website. Retrieved 30 January 2017.
- ^ Venkat, Vidya (21 July 2008). "Grey markets, but never in the red". The Hindu. Chennai. Archived from the original on 24 July 2008. Retrieved 16 March 2014.
- ^ ISBN 9780143030263. Retrieved 30 March 2014.
- ^ Madhavan, D. (20 December 2012). "National Institute of Siddha modifies expansion plan". The Hindu. Chennai. Retrieved 23 December 2012.
- ^ a b Todhunter, Colin (14 February 2013). "Hot mint in Chennai: welcome to India". Travelmag. Retrieved 16 March 2014.
- ^ "Street Photo Workshop at Parrys Corner - Chennai, November 2016". Time Out. 20 November 2016. Retrieved 10 April 2018.
- ^ Madhavan, T. (12 May 2012). "NSC Bose Road: Thoroughfare of George Town". The Hindu. Chennai. Retrieved 14 January 2013.
- ^ Lakshmi, K. (15 June 2018). "Madras Inherited to unravel city's architectural treasures". The Hindu. Chennai: Kasturi & Sons. Retrieved 17 October 2018.
- ^ a b Lopez, Aloysius Xavier (7 November 2014). "George Town buildings flout rules". The Hindu. Chennai. Retrieved 16 November 2014.
- ^ Suresh, S. (3 November 2012). "The Banking Heritage of Madras". The Times of India. Chennai. Retrieved 28 December 2012.
- ^ Mukund, Kanakalatha (3 April 2007). "Insight into the progress of banking". The Hindu. Chennai. Retrieved 28 December 2012.
- ^ Kumar, Shiv (26 June 2005). "200 years and going strong". The Tribune. Retrieved 28 December 2012.
- ^ "About Us". Reserve Bank of India. Archived from the original on 11 January 2013. Retrieved 28 December 2012.
- ^ "கலக்கப் போகுது பிராட்வே பஸ் நிலையம்". Dinamalar. Chennai. 22 July 2012.
- ^ "Jayalalithaa inaugurates new bus terminus in Chennai". The Hindu Business Line. Chennai: The Hindu. 19 November 2002. Retrieved 16 October 2011.
- ^ "Chennai Mofussil Bus Terminal (CMBT)". CMDA. Retrieved 16 October 2011.
- ^ "Broadway bus stand to get facelift". The Hindu. Chennai. 9 January 2013. Retrieved 9 January 2013.
- ^ Ghosh, Bishwanath (5 May 2011). "In Search of 7, Coral Merchant Street". The Hindu. Chennai. Archived from the original on 8 May 2011. Retrieved 30 March 2014.
External links