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 ...
, with historically rich records dating at least from the
time of the Pallavas, houses 2,467 heritage buildings within its
metropolitan area
A metropolitan area or metro is a region that consists of a densely populated urban agglomeration and its surrounding territories sharing industries, commercial areas, transport network, infrastructures and housing. A metro area usually com ...
(
CMA), the highest within any
Metropolitan Area
A metropolitan area or metro is a region that consists of a densely populated urban agglomeration and its surrounding territories sharing industries, commercial areas, transport network, infrastructures and housing. A metro area usually com ...
limit in
India
India, officially the Republic of India (Hindi: ), is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by area, the second-most populous country, and the most populous democracy in the world. Bounded by the Indian Ocean on the so ...
.
Most of these buildings are around 200 years old and older. Some of them are
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 ...
,
Chennai Egmore
Chennai Egmore, formerly known as Madras Egmore, also known as Chennai Elumbur (station code: MS), is a railway station in Chennai, Tamil Nadu, India. Situated in the neighborhood of Egmore, it is one of the four intercity railway terminals in t ...
,
Ripon Building
The Ripon Building is the seat and headquarters of the Greater Chennai Corporation in Chennai, Tamil Nadu. It is an example of neoclassical architecture, a combination of Ionic and Corinthian styles. The Ripon Building is an all-white structur ...
,
Senate House,
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 ...
, and so forth. Chennai is home to the second largest collection of heritage buildings in the country, after
Kolkata
Kolkata (, or , ; also known as Calcutta , the official name until 2001) is the capital of the Indian state of West Bengal, on the eastern bank of the Hooghly River west of the border with Bangladesh. It is the primary business, comme ...
.
The official list of heritage buildings was compiled by the Justice E. Padmanabhan committee.
The Tamil Nadu Assembly passed the Heritage Commission Act in 2012 to preserve old heritage structures.
The structures will be categorised into three grades, namely, Grades I, II, and III. Grade I structures will be prime landmarks upon which no alterations will be permitted. Under Grade II, external changes on structures will be subject to scrutiny. Buildings under Grade III may be changed for 'adaptive reuse' with suitable internal and external changes.
Heritage activism
Heritage buildings are defined as notified structures of historical, architectural, or cultural significance.
The heritage activism in the city began with the erstwhile
Moore Market
The Chennai Suburban Terminal, or Moore Market Complex (station code: MASS), is a railway terminus cum commercial building complex for the Chennai Suburban Railway system, situated in Park Town, Chennai, Park Town in Chennai, India. The name ...
building fire in 1985.
In 1997, the
state government
A state government is the government that controls a subdivision of a country in a federal form of government, which shares political power with the federal or national government. A state government may have some level of political autonomy, or ...
initiated action to conserve heritage buildings. In 1998, a committee headed by Director of Town and Country Planning was constituted by the government to investigate aspects related to enactment of the Heritage Act.
In 1999, the committee submitted the draft of Tamil Nadu Heritage Conservation Act. In the same year,
Chennai Metropolitan Development Authority
The Chennai Metropolitan Development Authority (CMDA), formerly known as the Madras Metropolitan Development Authority (MMDA), is the nodal planning agency of Chennai in the Indian state of Tamil Nadu. The CMDA administers the Chennai Metropol ...
(CMDA) constituted a Heritage Conservation Committee to draft regulations to conserve heritage buildings and precincts in the
Chennai Metropolitan Area
The Greater Chennai Metropolitan Area, or simply the Chennai Metropolitan Area (CMA), is the third-most populous metropolitan area in India, the 22nd-most in Asia, and the 40th-most in the world. The CMA consists of the core city of Chennai, wh ...
(CMA).
After the second master plan for the city was approved by the government on 2 September 2008, special rules for conservation of heritage buildings/precincts came into force.
In 2010, the criteria for listing the heritage structures in the CMA region was finalised, and in 2011, the process of assessment and documentation of heritage structures began.
A 17-member Heritage Commission was set up in May 2012 to maintain these structures, after a fire accident in Kalas Mahal, a 244-year-old heritage building in front of
Marina beach.
As per the Commission's mandate, heritage buildings that are listed will get incentives, such as exemption from payment of taxes, and offenders who deface or destroy them will face penal action.
In 2012, a list of heritage buildings was released by the Chennai Metropolitan Development Authority (CMDA) under the heritage conservation committee's (HCC) supervision. Criteria considered for notification as heritage structure include period of construction, exhibited trend, events or persons associated with the structure, and design, style, designer, physical condition, and design integrity for architecturally significant buildings.
The CMDA was expected to clear the first list of 70 heritage buildings compiled by the HCC. However, in 2013, the process of notification was delayed after 65 owners objected to the inclusion of their premises in the list. The Heritage Conservation Committee, however, overruled their objections.
Of the structures/precincts that figure on the list, 42 are government buildings and the remaining are private ones. The government buildings include the main building of the College of Engineering Guindy under
Anna University
Anna University is a public state university located in Tamil Nadu, India. The main campus is in Chennai. It was originally established on 4 September 1978 and was named after C. N. Annadurai, the former Chief Minister of Tamil Nadu.
History & ...
,
Madras High Court
The Madras High Court is a High Court in India. It has appellate jurisdiction over the state of Tamil Nadu and the union territory of Puducherry. It is located in Chennai, and is the third oldest high court of India after the Calcutta High C ...
,
General Post Office
The General Post Office (GPO) was the state postal system and telecommunications carrier of the United Kingdom until 1969. Before the Acts of Union 1707, it was the postal system of the Kingdom of England, established by Charles II in 1660. ...
, Music and Dance College,
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 ...
and
King Institute of Preventive Medicine.
Theosophical Society
The Theosophical Society, founded in 1875, is a worldwide body with the aim to advance the ideas of Theosophy in continuation of previous Theosophists, especially the Greek and Alexandrian Neo-Platonic philosophers dating back to 3rd century CE ...
is one of the private premises that are expected to get listed as a heritage structure. When a building is notified as a heritage structure, the onus of repair and maintenance of the heritage structure will be on the structure's owner.
In July 2018, documentation of the last phase covering 192 of the 467 buildings listed by Justice E. Padhmanaban Committee began.
Grading of heritage structures
The heritage structures have been classified into three grades, viz. Grade I, II, and III. Grade I includes buildings and precincts of national or historical importance, with excellence in architecture, style and design. These structures remain the chief landmarks of the city. Save for some minimal changes approved by the Heritage Conservation Committee (HCC), no intervention, both on the interior and on the exterior, will be permitted in these structures. Grade II includes those structures of regional or local importance with special architectural or aesthetic merit, cultural or historical value. Although internal changes to the structures and adaptive reuse are allowed, here, too, external changes are allowed after scrutiny by the HCC. Extension or construction of additional buildings in the same plot are permissible as long as they are in harmony with the existing structure, especially in terms of facade and height. Grade III includes structures of importance for town spaces. These structures evoke architectural or aesthetic interest, but not as much as the Grade II structures. Changes to both external and internal portions of the buildings are generally permissible for Grade III buildings.
Structures listed by the HCC
Prominent buildings on the HCC's list include:
*
Madras High Court
The Madras High Court is a High Court in India. It has appellate jurisdiction over the state of Tamil Nadu and the union territory of Puducherry. It is located in Chennai, and is the third oldest high court of India after the Calcutta High C ...
*
St. Thomas Cathedral Basilica, Chennai
*
Anderson Church, Parry's
*
Church of Our Lady of Light (Luz Church),
Mylapore
Mylapore, also spelt Mayilapur, is a neighbourhood in the central part of the city of Chennai, India. It is one of the oldest residential parts of the city. It is also called Tirumayilai. The locality is claimed to be the birthplace of the cel ...
*
General Post Office
The General Post Office (GPO) was the state postal system and telecommunications carrier of the United Kingdom until 1969. Before the Acts of Union 1707, it was the postal system of the Kingdom of England, established by Charles II in 1660. ...
,
Rajaji Salai
*
Royapuram Railway Terminal
*
Theosophical Society Headquarters Building, Besant Avenue,
Besant Nagar
* City Civil Court Building,
NSC Bose Road,
Park Town
*
Madras Engineering College (Main Building), Anna University, Sardar Patel Road,
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 Roa ...
* Bharathiyar Illam,
Triplicane
Triplicane, known in the vernacular as Thiruvallikeni, is one of the oldest neighbourhoods of Chennai, India. It is situated on the Bay of Bengal coast and about from Fort St George. The average elevation of the neighbourhood is 14 metres ...
* Madras Club (Moubray's Cupola), Adyar Club Gate Road
Structures that remain to be documented include:
*
Loyala College, Nungambakkam
* Horticultural Society, Cathedral Road
*
Royapettah Clock Tower, Chennai
*
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 ...
,
Anna Salai
Anna Salai (), formerly known as St. Thomas Mount Road or simply Mount Road, is an arterial road in Chennai, India. It starts at the Cooum Creek, south of Fort St George, leading in a south-westerly direction towards St. Thomas Mount, and end ...
* Kamarajar Arangam, Anna Salai
* Department of Public Instruction, College Road
*
Panagal Park,
T. Nagar
Thyagaraya Nagar, commonly known as T. Nagar, and historically known as East Mambalam, is a very affluent commercial and residential neighbourhood in Chennai, Tamil Nadu, India. It is surrounded by Nungambakkam in the North, Teynampet in the ...
*
Royapettah Clock Tower
*
Music Academy
The Music Academy is a classical music training program in Montecito in Santa Barbara County, California.
Overview
The academy hosts an annual eight-week summer music festival, highlighted by concerts and workshops directed by famous composer ...
, TTK Road
* CSI School of the Deaf, Santhome High Road
Buildings on the heritage list that do not exist any more include:
*
Chennai Central Prison
Madras Central Prison was one of the oldest prisons in India. It was located in Chennai (formerly Madras) in the Indian state of Tamil Nadu. It became operational during the British Raj period. Its prisoners were moved to the newly constructed ...
, Park Town
* Old Sacred Heart Shrine, Pantheon Road
* Roxy Theatre, Purasawalkam High Road
* Old Jail,
Prakasam Road
* Old building of
Kalaivanar Arangam
Kalaivanar Arangam is an auditorium situated at Wallajah Road in Chennai, Tamil Nadu, India. Named after N. S. Krishnan, The completely air-conditioned auditorium has seats for 1,100 persons on the first and second floors and about 1,300 person ...
, Wallajah Road
List of heritage structures
See also
*
Architecture of Chennai
Chennai architecture is a confluence of many architectural styles. From ancient Tamil temples built by the Pallavas, to the Indo-Saracenic style (pioneered in Madras) of the colonial era, to 20th-century steel and chrome of skyscrapers. Ch ...
*
Heritage conservation
*
Architectural conservation
Conservation and restoration of immovable cultural property describes the process through which the material, historical, and design integrity of any Cultural property, immovable cultural property are prolonged through carefully planned interve ...
References
Further reading
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Heritage structures in Chennai
Buildings and structures in Chennai
History of Chennai
Chennai-related lists
Chennai, Heritage
Tourist attractions in Chennai
Lists of buildings and structures in Tamil Nadu