Metcalfe Hall

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Metcalfe Hall is a heritage building situated in Kolkata at the junction of Strand Road and Hare Street in the heart of the city's business district. The architectural piece is reflective of the British imperial architecture at the beginning of the nineteenth century. It was built between 1840-1844 according to the design prepared by the city magistrate, C.K. Robinson and named after Sir Charles T. Metcalfe, the Governor-General of India, in honour of his efforts towards a free press. The building faces the Hooghly river on the West. The notable Greek order of the architecture was taken from the Tower of the Winds in Athens, one of the time tested designs of durability and lightness. The building is raised on a solid basement and thirty huge corinthian pillars support a massive entablature. The columns and colonnade surround the whole building. The main entrance from the West comprising a giant flight of stairs is now closed, the building is now accessed through the portico on the East. The architectural design later inspired the BNR House of Calcutta. Internally there are two stories comprising five halls. The Imperial Library of Calcutta which later evolved to the National Library of India was inaugurated in the building by Lord Curzon on 30th January, 1903. Presently, the ground floor houses the rare foreign journal and manuscript section of the Asiatic Society while the first floor houses offices, exhibition galleries and sales counter of the Archaeological Survey of India.