Delhi Town Hall Explained

The Delhi Town Hall is a landmark building, at Chandni Chowk in Old Delhi. It was the seat of the Municipal Corporation of Delhi (MCD) from 1866 during the British Raj till late 2009, when offices shifted to the new MCD Civic Centre on Minto Road in Central Delhi formally inaugurated in 2010.^[1]

History

The construction of the building started in 1860 and was completed in 1863. It is constructed out of yellow-painted brick and stone and carved white stone trim. It was initially known as Lawrence Institute and housed Delhi College of Higher Studies before it was bought by the municipality for in 1866. Besides government offices, the building also had a library and a European club.^[2]

Originally a bronze statue of Queen Victoria stood in front of the hall. After independence in 1947, it was replaced with a statue of the Arya Samaj leader Swami Shraddhanand. The original statue now stand in Delhi College of Art premises.^{[2] [3]}

The location is officially termed Ghantaghar after a clock tower that once stood here.

See also

• Palika Kendra

Further reading

• Morris, Jan, with Simon Winchester. Stones of Empire: The Buildings of the Raj. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2005.
• Web site: City Chronicles : Good old colonial halls of the Raj . Smith, R. V.. https://web.archive.org/web/20131216060431/http://www.hindu.com/mp/2006/09/11/stories/2006091101090200.htm. dead. 16 December 2013. 11 September 2006. . 2013-12-13 .

External links

28.6571°N 77.2275°W

Notes and References

1. Web site: Delhi gets its tallest building — Civic Centre . Indian Express . 2010-04-23 . 2013-09-23.
2. Book: Gaynor Barton and Laurraine Malone. Old Delhi 10 Easy Walks. Rupa Publications. 978-8171670994. 97.
3. Web site: Delhi's hall and arch of fame . https://web.archive.org/web/20030701124303/http://www.hindu.com/thehindu/mp/2002/10/28/stories/2002102800540200.htm . dead . 1 July 2003 . 28 October 2002. . 2013-12-12.