Victoria Public Hall

Coordinates: 13°04′55″N 80°16′21″E / 13.08192°N 80.2726°E / 13.08192; 80.2726
Source: Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.

Victoria Public Hall
Town Hall
Namperumal Chetty

13°04′55″N 80°16′21″E / 13.08192°N 80.2726°E / 13.08192; 80.2726

Victoria Public Hall

Victoria Public Hall, or the Town Hall, is a historical building in

British architecture in Chennai and was built to commemorate the Golden Jubilee of Queen Victoria.[1]
In the late 19th and early 20th centuries, it was used as a theater and a place for public gatherings. The South Indian Athletic Association Club now resides there.

History

In a meeting held in March 1882 at the Pachaiyappa's Hall in

Pudukottai Rajah and former Madras High Court Judge Muthuswamy Iyer (all ₹ 1,000 each) and P.Orr and Sons, a city-based watch company (₹ 1,400). Other contributors included Ramnad Raja Bhaskara Setupati, Zamindar of Ettiapuram and Hadji Abdul Batcha Sahib.[2] It took about five years to complete the construction.[3]

The hall, an example of

Sir Mountstuart Elphinstone Grant Duff, the governor of Madras during 1886–1890, declared open the hall. In January 1888, a citizens' meeting decided to name the hall after Queen Victoria. The then Municipal Corporation President Sir A.T. Arundale took the initiative.[4]

The hall soon become a venue of important public and social events. Several eminent personalities, including

Sardar Vallabhai Patel
have addressed meetings in the hall. The pioneers of Tamil play, such as Sankaradoss Swamigal and Pammal Sambanda Mudaliar, have staged their plays at the hall.

The Suguna Vilasa Sabha (SVS), founded in 1891, was most closely associated with the hall. It conducted the first evening drama shows in Madras. In October 1906, the play Kaadalar Kangal was staged at the hall. For the next 30 years, the Sabha remained at the hall and later, built its own theatre on acquisition of 36 grounds next to Christ Church on Anna Salai and now functions only as a social club.[3]

The

Dravidian Movement.[5][6]

It was there that the first cinema show was held in Chennai. T. Stevenson, proprietor of the Madras Photographic Store, ran some shows that consisted of ten short films.[3]

As the city grew southward and the medium of cinema acquired greater popularity, the building gradually went out of public attention. The lease expired in 1985 and a legal battle ensued as the Corporation did not want to extend the lease. With a compromise being reached in the matter, a petition to that effect was submitted in the court and decision was taken to take action against sub-leases.

Corporation of Chennai.[9][10] About 32 shops that had encroached upon the land belonging to the hall were also removed as part of the renovation.[8]

The building

The building is located on EVR Periyar Salai near

Chennai Central Railway Station. Constructed with red brick and painted with lime mortar, the rectangular building has an Italianate tower capped by a Travancore-style roof. The ground floor of the building has a built-up area of 13,342 sq ft and the first floor has a built-up area of 12,541 sq ft. The two large halls in the ground and the first floors were built to accommodate 600 persons each, while a wooden gallery in the eastern end has seating arrangement for more than 200 persons. The structure consists of arcaded verandahs along the northern and southern sides in the hall on the first floor supported on sleek Corinthian stone columns,[3] a square tower that is three storeys high, and a carved pyramidal roof. There is also an intricately carved terracotta cornice, which resembles Islamic calligraphy, atop the tower.[11] The hall has four staircases, of which three lead to the hall on the first floor and one to the balcony, and four turrets.[8]

The Trevelyan Fountain, a memorial fountain in the grounds of the hall, was raised to mark the contribution of

bas relief of Trevelyan's head.[12]

Renovation

Renovation work of the hall was first carried out in October 1967 and the then Chief Minister

C.N.Annadurai dedicated it for public use. After a few years, the building remained closed for over 40 years. In early 1990s, Suresh Krishna, the then Sheriff of Madras, took some efforts in salvaging a part of the building, and restored the Trevelyan Fountain. The former Maharashtra Governor C. Subramaniam rededicated the building in December 1993.[4]

The

teak wood
, while Mangalore tiles embellish the building. The dilapidated cuddapah stones were replaced with semi-polished stones.

Once the work is finished, sound and light show would be conducted on the ground floor. The first floor would be used to conduct cultural programmes. The hall would have a seating capacity of 600 persons.[14] The work has been completed.[3][15]

See also

References

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Victoria Public Hall, Chennai.
  1. ^ "Victoria Public Hall - Chennai, South India". Indian Columbus. 14 February 2011. Retrieved 30 October 2011.
  2. ^ "Inauguration of Victoria Public Hall delayed". Express Buzz. 18 July 2011. Retrieved 30 October 2011.
  3. ^ a b c d e Ramakrishnan, Deepa H. (29 January 2012). "Refurbished Victoria Public Hall likely to be thrown open in June". The Hindu. Chennai. Retrieved 31 January 2012.
  4. ^ a b Ramakrishnan, T. (18 July 2006). "Victoria Public Hall likely to get new life". The Hindu. Chennai. Archived from the original on 20 December 2007. Retrieved 29 October 2011.
  5. ^ Kavitha Muralidharan (20 November 2016). "100 years of Justice Party, a movement which defined Tamil Nadu politics". The NewsMinute. Retrieved 13 September 2021.
  6. ISBN 978-0-19-539245-6
    . Retrieved 7 July 2016.
  7. ^ Ramakrishnan, Deepa H. (12 April 2009). "Corporation takes over Victoria Public Hall". The Hindu. Chennai. Archived from the original on 15 April 2009. Retrieved 30 October 2011.
  8. ^ a b c Ramakrishnan, Deepa H. (17 January 2010). "Victoria Public Hall repair works to begin tomorrow". The Hindu. Chennai. Archived from the original on 25 January 2010. Retrieved 30 October 2011.
  9. ^ "HC clears takeover of Hotel Picnic". The Times of India. InfoMagic.com. 16 September 2011. Retrieved 30 October 2011.
  10. ^ TNN (29 October 2011). "Long legal dispute ends, corpn takes over hotel". The Times of India. Chennai. Archived from the original on 26 January 2013. Retrieved 29 October 2011.
  11. ^ Mariappan, Julie (19 April 2011). "Victoria gets a facelift". The Times of India. Chennai. Archived from the original on 3 June 2012. Retrieved 30 October 2011.
  12. ^ Muthiah, S. (25 September 2011). "Madras miscellany". The Hindu. Chennai. Retrieved 30 October 2011.
  13. ^ Lakshmi, K. (4 November 2010). "Consultant to be decided soon". The Hindu. Chennai. Retrieved 29 October 2011.
  14. ^ "Victoria Public Hall restoration to be completed by June". The Hindu. Chennai. 3 May 2011. Retrieved 29 October 2011.
  15. ^ "Victoria Hall spruce-up to be over by Aug". The Times of India. Chennai. 14 July 2011. Archived from the original on 10 September 2012. Retrieved 16 July 2011.
Retrieved from "https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Victoria_Public_Hall&oldid=1163495921"