Kolkata Town Hall

Kolkata Town Hall in Roman-Doric style, was built by the architect Col. John Garstin in 1813 with a fund of Rupees seven lakhs raised from lottery to provide the Europeans with a place for social gatherings. At first, the hall was placed under a committee, which allowed the public to use the hall under such terms and conditions as were fixed by the Government. The public could visit the ground floor hall to see statues and large size portrait paintings but they were not allowed indiscriminate access to the upper storey. Applications for the use of the upper storey were to be made to the committee. In 1867 Town Hall came under the custody of the Calcutta Municipality (later on Kolkata Municipal Corporation). In the year of 1897 the Town Hall had been partly renovated. After political independence in 1947, Indiscriminate interference with the structure inevitably took its toll. That, at last, has been prevented in 1998 by timely intervention.

The town hall was featured on the 6th leg of The Amazing Race 18, when the teams had to compete in a tea-drinking roadblock.

References

Reference 1 :Municipal Calcutta - Its Institutions in their origin and growth - Compiled by S.W. Goode, First published in 1916 at Edinburgh and Reprinted in 2005 by Kolkata Municipal Corporation.

Reference 2 : Calcutta Old & New - H.E.A Cotton, 1909, Calcutta.