Architecture

St. George's Church built in Madras

St. George's Church on the Choultry Plain was opened in 1815 and later became the cathedral of the Diocese of Madras.

St. Andrew's Church (the Kirk) consecrated

Built in Egmore for the Scots of Madras, St. Andrew's Church was consecrated in 1821.

St. Stephen's Church founded at Ooty

St. Stephen's Church at Ootacamund, whose foundation stone Governor Stephen Lushington laid, opened for worship in 1831.

Ice House built on the Madras beach

Frederic Tudor built the Ice House facing the sea at Madras to store ice shipped from America; it is now Vivekanandar Illam.

Imperial Hotel opens in Madras

The Imperial Hotel, later the Connemara, opened in 1854 and is the oldest functioning hotel in Chennai.

Presidency College moves to its Marina building

Presidency College, Madras moved into its new building opposite Marina Beach, on today's Kamaraj Salai.

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.

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.

Victoria Public Hall built in Madras

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

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.

Victoria Technical Institute opens in Madras

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

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.

Connemara Public Library opens

The Connemara Public Library, founded in 1890 by Governor Lord Connemara, opened to the public in Madras in 1896.

San Thome Cathedral rebuilt and consecrated

The church over the traditional tomb of St Thomas at Santhome, Madras, was rebuilt in neo-Gothic style and consecrated on 1 April 1896.

Moore Market completed in Madras

Completed in 1900 beside Madras Central, Moore Market was an Indo-Saracenic building meant to accommodate the hawkers of Broadway.

Madras Egmore station building opens

The Indo-Saracenic terminal of Egmore station, Madras terminus of the South Indian Railway, was opened on 11 June 1908.

Ripon Building becomes home of the Madras Corporation

The Madras Municipal Corporation moved into the newly completed Ripon Building in 1913; Lord Minto had laid its foundation stone in 1909.

Auroville inaugurated near Pondicherry

The experimental international township of Auroville was inaugurated in Viluppuram district with delegates from 124 nations.

Vivekananda Rock Memorial opened at Kanyakumari

A memorial to Swami Vivekananda was completed on a rock off the coast of Kanyakumari after a nationwide fundraising campaign.

Valluvar Kottam inaugurated

The Valluvar Kottam memorial to the poet Thiruvalluvar, begun under the DMK government, was inaugurated in Madras during President's rule.

Mahabalipuram monuments declared a UNESCO World Heritage Site

The Pallava-era Group of Monuments at Mahabalipuram became Tamil Nadu's first UNESCO World Heritage Site.

Brihadisvara Temple, Thanjavur, declared a World Heritage Site

The 11th-century Brihadisvara Temple built by Rajaraja I at Thanjavur was inscribed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site.

Srirangam temple Rajagopuram completed

The 73-metre main gateway tower of the Ranganathaswamy temple at Srirangam was completed after centuries.

Sripuram golden temple consecrated near Vellore

The gold-covered Sri Lakshmi Narayani temple at Sripuram near Vellore was consecrated on 24 August 2007.

New Assembly-Secretariat complex inaugurated

A new legislature and secretariat building on Anna Salai was opened, but the next government moved back to Fort St. George and turned it into a hospital.

Millennium celebrations of the Thanjavur Big Temple

Thanjavur marked 1,000 years of the Brihadisvara Temple with cultural events, including a performance by 1,000 Bharatanatyam dancers.