Broadway, Chennai
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Broadway (officially known as Prakasam Salai, after the freedom fighter T. Prakasam) is one of the historical thoroughfares of the commercial centre of George Town in
Chennai Chennai, also known as Madras (List of renamed places in India#Tamil Nadu, its official name until 1996), is the capital city, capital and List of cities in Tamil Nadu by population, largest city of Tamil Nadu, the southernmost states and ...
, India. The road runs north–south connecting China Bazaar Road in the south with Ibrahim Sahib Street ( Old Jail Road) in the north. The road divides George Town into Muthialpet and Peddanaickenpet.


History

Up until the 16th century, the road and the surrounding region, being near the coast, had many sand ridges. As the sea level rose, it inundated these regions, where several lagoons and ridges were left behind when the sea withdrew. The sandy ridges remained places of safety, where settlements were established. Several valleys ran around the ridges, which rose up to about 12 feet in height. Some of these valleys served as drainage channels. Until the late 18th century, the area on which the present day's road lies remained one such unwanted drainage channel, known then as Atta Pallam. Much of the area was owned by Stephen Popham, a former British MP and later the advocate general in
Calcutta Kolkata, also known as Calcutta (List of renamed places in India#West Bengal, its official name until 2001), is the capital and largest city of the Indian States and union territories of India, state of West Bengal. It lies on the eastern ba ...
, who moved to Madras in 1778. He is credited with establishing a modern police force in the city in 1782. The area where the
General Hospital ''General Hospital'' (often abbreviated as ''GH'') is an American daytime television soap opera created by Frank and Doris Hursley which has been broadcast on American Broadcasting Company, ABC since April 1, 1963. Originally a half-hour seria ...
, Madras United Club and the Park Town post office stand today was then a hill known locally as Narimedu (literally 'mound of foxes'), which was named 'Hoggs Hill' by the British. When the British considered it as a security threat to Fort St. George and decided to level the area, Popham negotiated with them to buy the earth removed from the hill to fill the ditch, and a road was laid on it in 1782. The thoroughfare thus created came to be known as 'Popham's Broadway'. By the 1890s, the road became known for two food establishments, the first of which was that of P. Venkatachellum, whose condiments and chutneys were popular in England. He is credited with the creation of mulligatawny soup from the local recipe of ''milagu rasam'' (''milagu thanni''). The other restaurant was Harrison's, established in 1891, which today is a contemporary hotel in
Nungambakkam Nungambakkam is a locality in downtown Chennai, India. The neighborhood abounds with multinational commercial establishments, important government offices, foreign consulates, educational institutions, shopping malls, sporting facilities, tou ...
. The road was also home to the city's first private hospital run in the 1900s by physician T. A. Sankaranarayanan, decades before the advent of the
Apollo Hospitals Apollo Hospitals Enterprise Limited is an Indian multinational healthcare group headquartered in Chennai. It is the largest for-profit private hospital network in India, with a network of 71 owned and managed hospitals. Along with the eponym ...
, the country's first modern corporate hospital, established in 1983.


The present-day road

Today, the road has morphed into one of the most important commercial streets of George Town. Several commercial establishments, especially those of opticians, have their shops on this street. The Broadway bus terminus, the largest bus terminus of the Chennai Metropolitan Transport Corporation, is located on the southern end of the road. The road also houses the Mannadi Metro Rail station of the Chennai Metro Rail.


See also

* Parry's Corner * George Town * History of Chennai


References


Bibliography

* {{Transport in Chennai Roads in Chennai Streets of George Town, Chennai Shopping districts and streets in India