Anna Salai (), formerly known as St. Thomas Mount Road or simply Mount Road, is an

arterial road An arterial road or arterial thoroughfare is a high-capacity urban road that sits below freeways/motorways on the road hierarchy in terms of traffic flow and speed. The primary function of an arterial road is to deliver traffic from collector r ...

Chennai Chennai (, ), formerly known as Madras ( the official name until 1996), is the capital city of Tamil Nadu, the southernmost Indian state. The largest city of the state in area and population, Chennai is located on the Coromandel Coast of th ...

, India. It starts at the Cooum Creek, south of

Fort St George Fort St. George (or historically, White Town) is a fortress in the coastal city of Chennai, India. Founded in 1639, it was the first English (later British) fortress in India. The construction of the fort provided the impetus for further ...

, leading in a south-westerly direction towards

St. Thomas Mount Parangimalai (known in English as St. Thomas Mount) is a small hillock in Chennai, Tamil Nadu, India, near the neighbourhood of Guindy and very close to Chennai International Airport. The ancient Syrian Christian community of India trace t ...

, and ends at the Kathipara Junction in

Guindy Guindy is one of the most important neighborhoods of Chennai, Tamil Nadu, and is nicknamed as ''The Gateway to Chennai''. The Kathipara junction where Anna Salai, Mount-Poonamallee Road, Inner Ring Road, 100 Feet Road or Jawaharlal Nehru Ro ...

. Beyond the Kathipara Junction, a branch road arises traversing westwards to

Poonamallee Poonamallee is suburb of Chennai, India under the Chennai Metropolitan Area. It was historically called ''Pushpagirimangalam'', later renamed in Tamil as ''Poovirundhavalli'' (), and now colloquially called as ''Poondhamalli''. It is a town in ...

to form the

Mount-Poonamallee Road St. Thomas Mount-Poonamallee Road, popularly known as the Mount-Poonamallee Road (SH-55), is an arterial road in the city of Chennai, India. It runs for 11 kilometres from Kathipara Junction to the NH 4 highway connecting St. Thomas Mount wit ...

while the main branch continuing southwards to

Chennai Airport Chennai International Airport is an international airport serving the city of Chennai, Tamil Nadu and its metropolitan area. It is located in Tirusulam, southwest of the city centre. Chennai International Airport is the sixth busiest airpo ...

Tambaram Tambaram is a southern suburb of Chennai, India. Located in the Chengalpattu district of Tamil Nadu, it is governed by Tambaram City Municipal Corporation and is a part of the Chennai Metropolitan Area. Etymology Tambaram is an ancient to ...

and beyond to form

Grand Southern Trunk Road Grand Southern Trunk Road (or) National Highways 45 is an arterial road in Tamil Nadu. It is also known as Chennai–Trichy Highway. The Road starts from Kathipara Junction in St Thomas Mount, Chennai towards Tiruchirappalli. It branches out from A ...

(

GST Road Grand Southern Trunk Road (or) National Highways 45 is an arterial road in Tamil Nadu. It is also known as Chennai–Trichy Highway. The Road starts from Kathipara Junction in St Thomas Mount, Chennai towards Tiruchirappalli. It branches out from A ...

NH45 National Highway 45 (NH 45) is a primary national highway in India. This highway runs in the states,sagartola of Madhya Pradesh and Chhattisgarh. The route of NH-45 was extended from Jabalpur to Bilaspur in June 2016. Route NH45 traverses ...

). Anna Salai, which is more than 400 years old, is acknowledged as the most important road in Chennai city. The head offices of many commercial enterprises and public buildings are located along Anna Salai. It is the second longest road in Chennai, after

EVR Periyar Salai EVR Periyar Salai (EVR High Road), earlier known as Poonamallee High Road (NH 48) and originally the Grand Western Trunk Road, is an arterial road in Chennai, India. It is the longest road in Chennai. Running from east to west, the road start ...

. There were several flyover projects under proposal along the stretch, many of which have been shelved owing to the construction of the

Chennai Metro The Chennai Metro is a rapid transit system serving the city of Chennai, Tamil Nadu, India. It is the 4th longest metro system In india. The system commenced service in 2015 after partially opening the first phase of the project. The network c ...

Rail project, which runs along the median of the road. Anna Salai Head Post office, one of the most important post offices in the city, is located on this road. It was established in 1854 as Mount Road SO as a non-gazetted delivery office. With the growth of commerce and urbanization, this SO was upgraded to gazetted in the year 1955. Nomenclature of this Head Post office was changed from Mount Road Head Post office to Anna Road Head Post office on 15 September 1974.

History

Anna Salai can be traced from at least the early 17th century, and has its origins in a cart track which was used by the European employees of the

British East India Company The East India Company (EIC) was an English, and later British, joint-stock company founded in 1600 and dissolved in 1874. It was formed to trade in the Indian Ocean region, initially with the East Indies (the Indian subcontinent and South ...

to travel from the factory at

to the holy town of St Thomas Mount where the apostle St Thomas was crucified. The road, in its present form, took shape during the time of

Charles Macartney Charles George Macartney (27 June 1886 – 9 September 1958) was an Australian cricketer who played in 35 Test matches between 1907 and 1926. He was known as "The Governor-General" in reference to his authoritative batting style and his flamb ...

who served as

Governor of Madras This is a list of the governors, agents, and presidents of colonial Madras, initially of the English East India Company, up to the end of British colonial rule in 1947. English Agents In 1639, the grant of Madras to the English was finalized b ...

. With the construction of Marmalong Bridge in 1724, the road started gaining prominence. In the following years, the road became part of the city's central business district which originally covered only George Town. Today, most of Chennai's business and corporate offices are located on Anna Salai. In the 1700s, the road was lined with garden houses and large colonial mansions with balconies and verandas set amidst lush gardens. By the 1800s, Mount Road has become the traders' area of the city of Madras while First Line Beach in Georgetown remained the seat of processing, shipping and manufacturing businesses. However, the business activities of Mount Road was responsible for the city's economic growth. Several giant firms had beginnings on Mount Road, from the Amalgamations group to the TVS group. The road's proximity to the Government House, the home of the Governor, and the palaces of the Nawabs of Arcot resulted in several firms selling cars and other luxury goods setting up shops on the road. Simpson & Co, which moved to its current location opposite Government Estate after 1875, began building carriages and coaches and then cars. In the early 1900s, the road became the entertainment hub for the British. In 1903, the first steam-driven car was taken for its debut drive on Mount Road. To overcome the Great Depression of the 1930s, Simpon's introduced the

hire purchase A hire purchase (HP), also known as an installment plan, is an arrangement whereby a customer agrees to a contract to acquire an asset by paying an initial installment (e.g., 40% of the total) and repaying the balance of the price of the asset pl ...

system for cars and trucks. In the 1930s, the TVS group, which was a travel operator in mofussil areas, was established in Madras by acquiring the Madras Auto Service property. In the 1940s, Anantharamakrishnan helped with the formation of Amalgamations & Co. The city's first skyscraper, the

LIC Building LIC Building is a 15-storied building in Chennai, India, serving as the southern headquarters of the Life Insurance Corporation of India. It is the first skyscraper built in Chennai and an important landmark in the city. Located on the arteria ...

, was built on Anna Salai in 1959. Several major firms were then established, namely, Spencers & Co, Victoria Family Hotel (the present location of the Indian Overseas Bank Headquarters) and Higginbothams.

The Stretch

Anna Salai starts from the

Parktown Parktown is a wealthy suburb of Johannesburg, South Africa, the first suburb north of the inner city (both chronologically and geographically). It is affectionately known as one of the Parks, others including Parkview, Parkwood, Westcliff, Park ...

area of Chennai city where

Chennai Central Chennai Central (station code: MAS, short for ''Madras''), officially known as Puratchi Thalaivar Dr. M.G. Ramachandran Central Railway Station, is the main railway terminus in the city of Chennai, Tamil Nadu, India. It is the busiest railway ...

railway terminus is situated. It, then, traverses the Island with its statue of Sir Thomas Munro to the other side of the Coovum before entering the neighbourhoods of

Thousand Lights Thousand Lights is a constituency of the legislative assembly of the Indian state of Tamil Nadu. Its State Assembly Constituency number is 20. It forms a part of the Chennai Central Lok Sabha constituency for national elections to the Parli ...

and

Teynampet Teynampet, also Teynampettai, is one of the busiest commercial localities in the city of Chennai, Tamil Nadu, India. Part of the city's central business district, it is surrounded by Gopalapuram in the north, Mylapore in the east, Alwarpet in t ...

areas. From Teynampet, it continues straight southwards to

Nandanam Nandanam is a neighborhood in Chennai, India. It is a busy location and is home to many commercial institutions. This locality also offers a calm residential location. Nandanam Arts College was established in 1901. Nandanam Junction, on the a ...

and

Saidapet Saidapet, also known as Saidai, is a neighbourhood in Chennai, India, situated in the northern banks of the Adyar River and serves as an entry point to Central Chennai. It is surrounded by West Mambalam in the North, C.I.T Nagar in the North ...

before traversing the

Maraimalai Adigal Bridge The Maraimalai Adigal Bridge (previously the Marmalong Bridge) is a road bridge on Anna Salai connecting the northern and southern banks of the Adyar River. History The oldest bridge across the Adyar River - the Marmalong Bridge - was original ...

across the Adyar River to

Little Mount Little is a synonym for small size and may refer to: Arts and entertainment * ''Little'' (album), 1990 debut album of Vic Chesnutt * ''Little'' (film), 2019 American comedy film *The Littles, a series of children's novels by American author John P ...

and finally,

. Anna Salai is maintained by the Tamil Nadu Highways Department. The road extends for a total of 11 kilometres and traverses the heart of the city. By the 2010s, the stretch between Parry's Corner and

was used by over 16,000 vehicles during rush hour. Anna Salai is used by over 0.183 million vehicles every day. The Metropolitan Transport Corporation in Anna Salai carries about 14,000 passengers per hour per direction.

Safety level

Anna Salai remains the road in the city experiencing second most number of accidents annually, next only to Jawaharlal Nehru Road (100 ft Inner Ring Road), with one person being injured every 1.13 days. Together, these roads account for almost 14 per cent of the 5,101 accidents that occurred in Chennai in 2010.

Landmarks on Anna Salai

Major landmarks

* Agurchand Mansion (built late 1800s) *

Anna Flyover Anna Flyover, also known as Gemini Flyover, is a dual-armed grade separator in the central business district of Chennai, India. Built in 1973 and dubbed one of the top-rated flyovers in the country, it is Asia's First Grade Separator, the firs ...

* Ashok Leyland - ALCOB Building *

Bharat Overseas Bank Bharat Overseas Bank (BOB) was a private bank based in Chennai, India. In 2007, it merged with Indian Overseas Bank, which took over all the bank's employees, assets, and deposits. BOB was established in 1973, in order to takeover for the Bangko ...

Headquarters *

Indian Overseas Bank Indian Overseas Bank (IOB) is an Indian public sector bank based in Chennai. It has about 3,214 domestic branches, about 4 foreign branches and representative office. Founded in February 1937 by M. Ct. M. Chidambaram Chettyar with twin object ...

Headquarters *

Bharat Insurance Building Bharat Insurance building is a heritage building in Chennai, India. Located on the arterial Anna Salai, it was built in 1897. Originally known as Kardyl Building, the building is an example of the Indo-Saracenic architecture, a hybrid of Muslim d ...

(built 1897) * Century Plaza * Christ Church (built 1852) * Cosmopolitan Club * Cosmopolitan Club Golf Links * American Consulate * Devaneya Paavaanar Library * Devi Theater *

Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam The Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (; DMK) is a political party based in the state of Tamil Nadu where it is currently the ruling party having a comfortable majority without coalition support and the union territory of Puducherry where it is curre ...

MK(Party Headquarters) * Gove House (built 1916) * The Grand Chola Hotel * Guindy Railway Overbridge *

Higginbotham's Higginbotham's is an Indian bookstore chain and publisher based in the city of Chennai. The company's first bookstore at Mount Road, Chennai is India's oldest bookshop in existence.Madras Rediscovered, Pg 81 The company's second bookstore in Ba ...

(India's oldest bookshop) (built 1844) * Hindustan Teleprinters Limited (built early 1900s) *

Hyatt Regency Hotel Hyatt Hotels Corporation, commonly known as Hyatt Hotels & Resorts, is an American multinational hospitality company headquartered in the Riverside Plaza area of Chicago that manages and franchises luxury and business hotels, resorts, and vaca ...

* Indian Oil Building * Intellectual Property India Headquarters * Island Grounds Exhibition Centre * Kalignar Satellite Television Headquarters *

Kamaraj Memorial Hall Kumaraswami Kamaraj (15 July 1903 – 2 October 1975, hinduonnet.com. 15–28 September 2001), popularly known as Kamarajar was an Indian independence activist and politician who served as the Chief Minister of Madras State (Tamil Nadu) ...

* Kathipara Cloverleaf Intersection * Le Royal Meridien Hotel *

(Chennai's first skyscraper) *

Madras Gymkhana Club The Madras Gymkhana Club (MGC) is a club in Chennai, India, which was founded in 1884 to promote sports and social and cultural activities. It owns and operates one of Chennai's two 18-hole golf courses, one of Asia's oldest courses. Tamil Na ...

* Mount Road Mosque *

Thousand Lights Mosque Thousand Lights is a multi-domed mosque in Anna Salai in Chennai, Tamil Nadu, India, is one of the largest mosques in the country and is a revered place of worship and azadari for Shia Shīʿa Islam or Shīʿīsm is the second-largest ...

(built early 1800s) * Mount Road Head Post Office * ''

The Hindu ''The Hindu'' is an Indian English-language daily newspaper owned by The Hindu Group, headquartered in Chennai, Tamil Nadu. It began as a weekly in 1878 and became a daily in 1889. It is one of the Indian newspapers of record and the secon ...

'' * ''

The Mail Mail is a system for physically transporting postcards, letters, and parcels. Mail or The Mail may also refer to: Newspapers * ''Daily Mail'', a British newspaper **The Mail on Sunday **MailOnline * ''Sunday Mail'' (Adelaide), formerly The Mai ...

'' (built 1921) * Thevar Statue * Oxford University Press * P Orr & Sons (built 1873) * Panagal Building * The Park Hotel * Poombuhar Building (built late 1800s) * Rajaji Hall (built 1802) * Raheja Towers * Rani Seethai Hall * Rayala Towers * Sacred Heart School, Church Park *

Safire Theatre complex The Safire Theatre complex was India's first largest multi-theatre complex located in the southern city of Chennai that functioned from 1964 to 1994. The theatre complex was located on Mount Road (now Anna Salai) and consisted of three screeni ...

(now demolished) *

Saidapet Teachers' College The Institute of Advanced Study in Education, popularly known as Teachers' College is the oldest teacher training institute in India located in Saidapet, Chennai. History It was started in Vepery as the 'Government Normal School' in 1856. The ...

Semmozhi Poonga Semmozhi Poonga, variously spelled as Semmoli Poonga (literally translated to "Classical Language Park"), is a botanical garden in Chennai set up jointly by the Horticulture and Agricultural Engineering department of the Government of Tamil Na ...

* Simpsons *

Spencer Plaza Spencer Plaza (Tamil language, Tamil: ஸ்பென்சர் பிளாசா) is a shopping mall located on Anna Salai in Chennai, Tamil Nadu, India, and is one of the modern landmarks of the city. Originally built during the period ...

* SPIC Building * State Bank of India building (built early 1900s) * St. George's Cathedral (built 1816) *

* Sterling Towers * Taj Connemara Hotel * Tamil Nadu Electricity Board Headquarters * Tamil Nadu Legislative Assembly Government Estate * Tamil Nadu Newsprint and Papers Limited (TNPL) * Tamil Nadu Pollution Control Board * Tarapore Towers *

The British Council The British Council is a British organisation specialising in international cultural and educational opportunities. It works in over 100 countries: promoting a wider knowledge of the United Kingdom and the English language (and the Welsh la ...

* VGP Victory House *

Victoria Technical Institute Victoria Technical Institute is an institute established to commemorate the Golden Jubilee of Queen Victoria. The institute promotes traditional handicrafts of South India. History The Victoria Technical Institute was opened in Pantheon Road, ...

* Voltas * Willington Bridge * YMCA

Railway Stations

* Chintadripet MRTS railway station *

Guindy railway station Guindy railway station is one of the railway stations of the Chennai Beach–Chengalpattu section of the Chennai Suburban Railway Network. It serves the neighbourhood of Guindy, a suburb of Chennai. It is located at about 14 km from Chennai ...

File:Anna Salai shops.jpg, Anna Salai shops File:Gemini Flyover-Mount road-Chennai.jpg, Gemini Flyover-Anna Salai File:Anna Salai2.jpg, Anna Salai near old Anand Theater File:Thomas Munro classic.jpg, Statue of

Thomas Munro Major-General Sir Thomas Munro, 1st Baronet KCB (27 May 17616 July 1827) was a Scottish soldier and British colonial administrator. He served as an East India Company Army officer and statesman, in addition to also being the governor of Mad ...

The Island, Chennai The Island, also called as Island Grounds, is a river island situated on the Coovum River in the northern part of the Indian city of Chennai. The island was created artificially in the early 19th century by merging the Coovum River with the the ...

File:State Legislative Assembly (5319604341).jpg, The Tamil Nadu Omandurar Government Multi Speciality Hospital and Medical College File:The Hindu and The Mail.jpg, The offices of ''

'' and the now-defunct ''

'' in Anna Salai File:LIC Building Anna Salai Chennai.jpg,

File:Spencer Plaza from Anna Salai.jpg,

from Anna Salai File:Thousand Lights Mosque (6708375421).jpg,

File:Equestrian Statue Anna Salai Chennai.jpg, Equestrian Statue on the

Nungambakkam Nungambakkam is a locality in downtown Chennai, India. The neighborhood abounds with multi-national commercial establishments, important government offices, foreign consulates, educational institutions, shopping malls, sporting facilities, to ...

side of Anna (Gemini) fly over. File:Anna Salai seen from Chennai MRTS near Willingdon Bridge.JPG, Near Willingdon Bridge, seen from

Chennai MRTS The Chennai Mass Rapid Transit System, a state-owned subsidiary of Indian Railways, is a metropolitan elevated railway line in Chennai, India. Operated by the Southern Railways, it is the first elevated railway line in India and also the c ...

File:Panagal Building.jpg, Panagal Maaligai or Panagal Building,

References

{{Transport in Chennai Roads in Chennai Central business districts in India Memorials to C. N. Annadurai