Many heritage structures are found in

Mumbai Mumbai (, ; also known as Bombay — the official name until 1995) is the capital city of the Indian state of Maharashtra and the ''de facto'' financial centre of India. According to the United Nations, as of 2018, Mumbai is the second- ...

, India.

Chatrapati Shivaji Terminus (Victoria Terminus Station)

Background

Mumbai consists of seven islands by the coast of

Arabian Sea The Arabian Sea ( ar, اَلْبَحرْ ٱلْعَرَبِيُّ, Al-Bahr al-ˁArabī) is a region of the northern Indian Ocean bounded on the north by Pakistan, Iran and the Gulf of Oman, on the west by the Gulf of Aden, Guardafui Channel ...

that are connected by bridges and land fill. It is the capital of the Indian state of

Maharashtra Maharashtra (; , abbr. MH or Maha) is a states and union territories of India, state in the western India, western peninsular region of India occupying a substantial portion of the Deccan Plateau. Maharashtra is the List of states and union te ...

and the business and financial capital of

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 ...

. Mumbai transferred from Portuguese to British rule as part of Catherine of Braganza’s dowry to Charles II in 1661. It rose to become India's largest city, driven in large part by its status as a leading cotton trading market and shipping port.

Heritage structures

Mumbai's history offers many heritage structures and historical precincts. Most are located in the south of Mumbai, as historically, access to the city was only through the port there. The southern tip of the city is home to the Fort precinct, the urban core of Mumbai during the colonial period that was once enclosed by fortified walls. Mumbai had 591 heritage structures registered as of 2012. These include buildings, archaeological sites, colonial, industrial, domestic architectural sites and public spaces. A consulting committee called "The Mumbai Heritage Conservation Committee" guides the process. All work related to heritage structures needs approval from this committee. Heritage structures are classified as Grade I, Grade IIA, Grade IIB or Grade III. Most of the structures were built in the British period. They are in the Victorian Neo Gothic architectural style, Indo-Saracenic Revival ( Mulji Jetha Fountain) or Neoclassical styles. The

Elephanta Caves The Elephanta Caves are a collection of cave temples predominantly dedicated to the Hindu god Shiva. They are on Elephanta Island, or ''Gharapuri'' (literally "the city of caves"), in Mumbai Harbour, east of Mumbai in the Indian state of Mahā ...

Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj Terminus Chhatrapati Shivaji Terminus (officially Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj Terminus, Bombay station code: CSMT ( mainline)/ST ( suburban)), is a historic railway terminus and UNESCO World Heritage Site in Mumbai, Maharashtra, India. The terminus was ...

and The Victorian & Art Deco Ensemble of Mumbai are recognised as UNESCO World Heritage Sites. Mumbai is home to a large number of

Art Deco Art Deco, short for the French ''Arts Décoratifs'', and sometimes just called Deco, is a style of visual arts, architecture, and product design, that first appeared in France in the 1910s (just before World War I), and flourished in the Unite ...

structures, with the largest count of buildings in this style after

Miami Miami ( ), officially the City of Miami, known as "the 305", "The Magic City", and "Gateway to the Americas", is a East Coast of the United States, coastal metropolis and the County seat, county seat of Miami-Dade County, Florida, Miami-Dade C ...

. Many of these buildings are cinema halls, such as

Eros Cinema The Eros Cinema is an Art Deco style, now defunct, cinema theatre located in Cambata Building at Churchgate, Mumbai, India. It has a seating capacity of 1,204 people per show. Architects ''Shorabji Bhedwar'' designed the Streamline Moderne buil ...

and

Regal Cinema The Regal Cinema is an Art deco movie theatre located at Colaba Causeway, in Mumbai, India. Built by Framji Sidhwa, the first film to be aired at the Regal was the Laurel and Hardy work ''The Devil's Brother'' in 1933. According to the ''Li ...

. A string of Art Deco apartment buildings lines the city's waterfront promenade, Marine Drive.

Awards

Some Mumbai heritage structures have received

Unesco The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization is a specialized agency of the United Nations (UN) aimed at promoting world peace and security through international cooperation in education, arts, sciences and culture. It ...

awards. The Lal Chimney Compound received an award of distinction in the 2013 UNESCO Asia-Pacific Heritage Awards and the

Royal Bombay Yacht Club The Royal Bombay Yacht Club (RBYC) is one of the premier gentlemens' clubs which was founded in 1846 in Colaba (formerly Wellington Pier), an area of Mumbai in India. The building was designed by John Adams, who also designed the nearby Royal ...

Residential Chambers won an award of merit in the 2013 UNESCO Asia-Pacific Heritage Awards.

Mumbai Heritage Walks

Walking tours expose many residents and visitors to the structures. They are sponsored by the ''Mumbai Heritage Walks'' group, established in April 1999. The group was established by city architects Abha Bahl and Brinda Gaitonde. Their aim is to "raise the awareness of the people of Mumbai and visitors, about the city’s architecture and heritage monuments. Personalized, educative and imaginative; the walking tours highlight the vast range of architectural styles, planning elements and ornamental details, tracing the social and cultural history of the city."

References

External links