Metcalfe Hall is a heritage building situated in

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 ...

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 ...

, at the junction of Strand Road and Hare Street in the heart of the city's business district. The architecture is reflective of the British imperial

architecture Architecture is the art and technique of designing and building, as distinguished from the skills associated with construction. It is both the process and the product of sketching, conceiving, planning, designing, and constructing building ...

at the middle of the nineteenth century, and visually similar to ancient Greek temples. It was built between 1840 and 1844 according to the design prepared by the city magistrate, C.K. Robinson and named after Sir Charles T. Metcalfe, the Governor-General of

, in honour of his efforts towards a free press. The building faces the Hooghly river on the West.

History

Initially, the building housed the Calcutta Public Library collection, formed by Lord Metcalf, then the Governor General, who transferred 4,675 volumes from the library of the College of Fort William. These volumes and donations of books from individuals formed the nucleus of the library, which was created under private auspices.

Dwarkanath Tagore Dwarkanath Tagore ( bn, দ্বারকানাথ ঠাকুর, ''Darokanath Ţhakur''; 1794–1846) was one of the first Indian industrialists to form an enterprise with British partners. He was the son of Ramlochon Tagore, the founder ...

was the first proprietor of Calcutta Public Library. Presently, the ground floor houses the

Asiatic Society The Asiatic Society is a government of India organisation founded during the Company rule in India to enhance and further the cause of "Oriental research", in this case, research into India and the surrounding regions. It was founded by the p ...

's rare foreign

journal A journal, from the Old French ''journal'' (meaning "daily"), may refer to: *Bullet journal, a method of personal organization *Diary, a record of what happened over the course of a day or other period *Daybook, also known as a general journal, a ...

s and

manuscript A manuscript (abbreviated MS for singular and MSS for plural) was, traditionally, any document written by hand – or, once practical typewriters became available, typewritten – as opposed to mechanically printed or reproduced in ...

s section,"Metcalfe Hall", The Asiatic Society. Online.
/ref> while the first floor houses offices, exhibition galleries and a sales counter of the

Archaeological Survey of India The Archaeological Survey of India (ASI) is an Indian government agency that is responsible for archaeological research and the conservation and preservation of cultural historical monuments in the country. It was founded in 1861 by Alexand ...

Architecture

The main entrance from the West comprising a giant flight of stairs has been closed. The building is now accessed through the portico on the East, from the portico on the 'Hare Street'. The building is raised on a solid basement and thirty huge Corinthian pillars support a massive entablature. The columns and

colonnade In classical architecture, a colonnade is a long sequence of columns joined by their entablature, often free-standing, or part of a building. Paired or multiple pairs of columns are normally employed in a colonnade which can be straight or cur ...

surround the whole building. Internally there are two stories comprising five halls.

Gallery

File:Metcalfe Hall, Calcutta by Francis Frith.jpg, Metcalfe Hall in 19th century File:Metcalfe_Hall_-_Portico_-_Kolkata_2012-09-22_0316.JPG, Entrance File:Metcalfe Hall - 12 Strand Road - Kolkata 2016-10-11 0335.JPG, Metcalfe Hall, Strand Road view File:Metcalfe Hall 1, Kolkata.jpg, Metclafe Hall File:Metcalf Hall, Kolkata, 2022.jpg, Metcalfe Hall, as seen from

Hare Street Hare Street is a road in the Indian city of Kolkata, in Kolkata district, West Bengal, India. It connects the junction of Council House Street and Netaji Subhas Road in B.B.D. Bagh to Millennium Park Millennium Park is a public park loca ...

References

Palaces in Kolkata Tourist attractions in Kolkata {{India-museum-stub Neoclassical architecture in India Monuments of National Importance in West Bengal