Tamil Nadu Timeline

InfrastructureBritish Crown rule

Victoria Public Hall built in Madras

· Victoria Public Hall

Victoria Public Hall built in Madras
L.vivian.richard, Public domain · Wikimedia Commons

The foundation stone of Victoria Public Hall, the town hall of Madras, was laid in 1883; it was named after Queen Victoria in 1888.

The municipality leased a site in People's Park to the Victoria Public Hall Trust, and the Maharaja of Vizianagaram laid the foundation stone on 17 December 1883. The building was designed by Robert Fellowes Chisholm and built by Namperumal Chetty, and a citizens' meeting in January 1888 decided to name it after Queen Victoria. It served as a venue for public meetings and theatre, and Swami Vivekananda, Gopal Krishna Gokhale and Mahatma Gandhi are among those who visited or spoke there. The first cinema show in the city was held in the hall, and the Justice Party was founded there in 1916.

Related events

  1. 1873

    1. 1873Chennai CentralInfrastructure

      Madras Central railway station built

      Designed by George Harding and later altered by Robert Chisholm, Madras Central station was put up by the Madras Railway as its terminus in the city.

  2. 1874

    1. Apr 1874 to 1879Senate House, ChepaukEducation

      Senate House of the University of Madras completed

      Built from 1874 to 1879 to a design by Robert Chisholm, the Senate House on the Marina was an early Indo-Saracenic landmark.

  3. 1884

    1. 1884Marina BeachInfrastructure

      Governor Grant Duff creates the Marina promenade

      Governor Mountstuart Elphinstone Grant Duff laid out a promenade along the Madras beach in 1884 and named it the Marina.

  4. 1888

    1. Oct 1888 to 12 Jul 1892Madras High CourtInfrastructure

      Construction of the Madras High Court building begins

      Construction started in George Town, Madras, on the Indo-Saracenic High Court complex, designed by J. W. Brassington and opened in 1892.

  5. 1889

    1. 1889EgmoreEducation

      Victoria Technical Institute opens in Madras

      Marking Queen Victoria's golden jubilee, the Victoria Technical Institute opened on Pantheon Road in Egmore.

  6. 1892

    1. 12 Jul 1892Madras High CourtLaw Justice

      Madras High Court building inaugurated

      After three decades in temporary quarters, the Madras High Court moved into its Indo-Saracenic complex, inaugurated on 12 July 1892.

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