Bangalore Munivenkatappa was a building contractor in the pre-independence era of Indian history. He was born on 12 August 1888 and was majorly based in the Karnataka state. He built many prominent landmarks in his time (prominent among them being Lalitha Mahal, T.Narsipur bridge). He was also involved in the construction of the Mysore Palace. The British honored him with the title of 'Rao Sahib' in 1937.
Lalitha Mahal Palace was designed by E.W.Fritchley and constructed by Munivenkatappa in 1931 at a cost of Rs.13.00 lakhs.
Other than the Lalitha Mahal Palace, Munivenkatappa constructed the bridges on Kabini and T. Narsipur. In Bangalore, he constructed the Vani Vilas Hospital.
Munivenkatappa bought the gardens and home that belonged to the Raja of Ramnad on West Cott Road, Royapettah, Chennai, in the 1930s to establish the first Woodlands Hotel. In 1931, the hotel staged the annual conference of the prestigious Chennai Music Academy. Later, an air-conditioned open-air theatre was constructed in the same gardens. Even today, the hotel remains with the main building (almost hundred years old) in the middle of sprawling grounds and surrounded by massive trees. There is a theatre next to the hotel, Woodlands Theatre, belonging to the same family.
Munivenkatappa started the first granite factory in India at Bangalore and named it "Narayanaswamy & Sons". Polished stones were imported/exported to foreign countries from this factory.
In 1947, he bought a building in Curzon Park Road, Mysore and renamed it as Woodlands Theatre. He bought a nearby hostel and converted it to Greens Hotel.