Charing Cross, officially known as Faisal Chowk, is a major road intersection in

Lahore Lahore ( ; ; ) is the capital and largest city of the Administrative units of Pakistan, Pakistani province of Punjab, Pakistan, Punjab. It is the List of cities in Pakistan by population, second-largest city in Pakistan, after Karachi, and ...

Punjab Punjab (; ; also romanised as Panjāb or Panj-Āb) is a geopolitical, cultural, and historical region in South Asia. It is located in the northwestern part of the Indian subcontinent, comprising areas of modern-day eastern Pakistan and no ...

Pakistan Pakistan, officially the Islamic Republic of Pakistan, is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by population, fifth-most populous country, with a population of over 241.5 million, having the Islam by country# ...

. Located on Shahrah-e-Quaid-e-Azam, it is a popular site for protests within Lahore.Imtiaz, H. and Mustafa, M., 2018. The Charing Cross: Unfolding a Genius Loci in Lahore, Pakistan. Cities People Places : An International Journal on Urban Environments, 3(1), pp.1–16.

History

The area was part of Donald Town, a neighborhood named after Sir Donald McLeod, who served as

Lieutenant-Governor A lieutenant governor, lieutenant-governor, or vice governor is a high officer of state, whose precise role and rank vary by jurisdiction. Often a lieutenant governor is the deputy, or lieutenant, to or ranked under a governor — a " second-in-com ...

between 1865 and 1870. The planned intersection was developed at a juncture between Queens', Montgomery and Mall roads. It came to be known as Charing Cross, which historians believe is after

Charing Cross Charing Cross ( ) is a junction in Westminster, London, England, where six routes meet. Since the early 19th century, Charing Cross has been the notional "centre of London" and became the point from which distances from London are measured. ...

London London is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of both England and the United Kingdom, with a population of in . London metropolitan area, Its wider metropolitan area is the largest in Wester ...

. The name is recorded in a 1908 publication by G.R. Elmslie titled “''Thirty Five Years in the Punjab''” (1908,

Edinburgh Edinburgh is the capital city of Scotland and one of its 32 Council areas of Scotland, council areas. The city is located in southeast Scotland and is bounded to the north by the Firth of Forth and to the south by the Pentland Hills. Edinburgh ...

). A 1918-19 ‘B&R Report’ refers to it as the ‘Charing Cross Scheme’. A white marble pavilion, designed by

Bhai Ram Singh Bhai Ram Singh (1858–1916) was one of pre-partition Punjab (British India), Punjab's foremost architects, dominating the scene for nearly two decades from the 1890s. Amongst his works is the Durbar Room, Osborne House, on the Isle of Wight, En ...

, was constructed at Charing Cross in 1901 to mark

Queen Victoria Victoria (Alexandrina Victoria; 24 May 1819 – 22 January 1901) was Queen of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland from 20 June 1837 until Death and state funeral of Queen Victoria, her death in January 1901. Her reign of 63 year ...

's jubilee as the first

Empress of India Emperor (or Empress) of India was a title used by British monarchs from 1 May 1876 (with the Royal Titles Act 1876) to 22 June 1948 Royal Proclamation of 22 June 1948, made in accordance with thIndian Independence Act 1947, 10 & 11 GEO. 6. C ...

. A bronze statue of Victoria, cast in London in 1900, stood at the site in the pavilion from 1904 until 1951, when it was replaced by a model of the

Quran The Quran, also Romanization, romanized Qur'an or Koran, is the central religious text of Islam, believed by Muslims to be a Waḥy, revelation directly from God in Islam, God (''Allah, Allāh''). It is organized in 114 chapters (, ) which ...

.Imtiaz, H. and Mustafa, M., 2018. The Charing Cross: Unfolding a Genius Loci in Lahore, Pakistan. Cities People Places : An International Journal on Urban Environments, 3(1), pp.1–16. The statue now stands at

Lahore Museum The Lahore Museum (; ) is a museum located in Lahore, Punjab, Pakistan. Founded in 1865 at a smaller location and opened in 1894 at its current location on The Mall in Lahore during the British colonial period, Lahore Museum is Pakistan's larg ...

. To commemorate the 2nd Islamic Summit Conference held at Lahore in 1974, the Islamic Summit Minar was constructed at the site.Imtiaz, H. and Mustafa, M., 2018. The Charing Cross: Unfolding a Genius Loci in Lahore, Pakistan. Cities People Places : An International Journal on Urban Environments, 3(1), pp.1–16. In 1981 Charing Cross was officially renamed Faisal Chowk to honour

King Faisal of Saudi Arabia Faisal bin Abdulaziz Al Saud (; Najdi Arabic pronunciation: ; 14 April 1906 – 25 March 1975) was King of Saudi Arabia from 2 November 1964 until #Assassination and aftermath, his assassination in 1975. Before his ascension, he served as Cr ...

.Baqir M.; Lahore: Past and Present, Qindeel, Press, Lahore (1984), 456 In February 2017 a suicide bomber murdered at least 14 people at a protest in the area.Imtiaz, H. and Mustafa, M., 2018. The Charing Cross: Unfolding a Genius Loci in Lahore, Pakistan. Cities People Places : An International Journal on Urban Environments, 3(1), pp.1–16.

References

External links

* Majid Sheikh
Walking to Charing Cross
Dawn.com {{The Mall, Lahore, state=collapsed Tourist attractions in Lahore History of Lahore Lahore Squares in Pakistan The Mall, Lahore