Property Plus
Coimbatore
Celebrating Coimbatore's landmarks
PROUD TESTIMONIES: The Coimbatore Corporation Victoria Town Hall, Coimbatore Club, Tamil Nadu Agricultural University and Gass Forest Museum. - PHOTOS: K. ANANTHAN AND S. SIVA SARAVANAN
Some of the buildings in
the city harbour within
their four walls, memories
of the colonial past.
They have stood the test of
time and the charm of history
still lingers. The Hindu Property
Plus, which has completed
three years in Coimbatore,
highlights the essence of
some of these buildings:
The Victoria Town Hall
Location: Coimbatore
Corporation premises
Built in 1892
The Town Hall was built in
1892 in honour of the British
Empress Queen Victoria.
With more than 3,000 sq ft
of built-up area, the walls are
made of stone and lime mortar.
The hall has a high ceiling,
timber trusses covered with
Mangalore tiles for the roofing
and panelled shutters for
the windows.
According to the founder
convenor of the Coimbatore
chapter of the Indian National
Trust for Art and Cultural
Heritage, Shashi Gulati, the
hall was visited by celebrities,
including Mahatma Gandhi
and Rajaji.
At that time, the municipality
gave the land and Rs.
3,000 for the construction of
the hall and the rest of the
amount needed was pooled in
by the Town Hall Committee.
The committee was incharge
of the hall till 1952.
The city municipal meetings
and other important
meetings were held in the
hall.
Coimbatore Club
Location: Race Course Road
Built in 1873
One Hundred - Not Out by
K. Sreenivasan, one of the
first Indian members of the
club, was published in 1973 as
part of the centenary celebrations
of the Coimbatore Club.
It is a good source of information
for those who want to
know its early days.
According to the book, a
club was founded in every district
headquarters town as
the British officers, civil servants
and the increasing
number of English businessmen
had to spend their leisure
hours in keeping with
Victorian ethics and imperialistic
prestige.
The earliest papers found
go back to 1859 when there
was a book club.
The other places for recreation
were the racquet court
and the croquet ground.
A reading room for the
book club was the first to
come up where the club
stands today.
In 1875, it was resolved that
an East room should be built
for "whist and smoking." The
subject of a billiard board was
mooted the same year.
K. Balu, who had been the
secretary of the club for nearly
a decade says, the club even
had a stable as planters used
to ride on horseback from the
Anamalais.
Tamil Nadu Agricultural University
Location: Maruthamalai Main Road
Built in early 1900s
Construction of the Agricultural
College and Research
Institute was started in 1907
and completed in 1909.
It was opened on 14 July,
1909, by Sir Arthur Lawley,
Governor of Fort St. George
(Madras Presidency). The
building is in Hindu-Saracenic
style and made of red tablemoulded
brick in mortar and
finely dressed cut stones.
The building plan is based
on British Architecture and
has two blocks facing the
main Maruthamalai Road.
Each block has two floors.
The two blocks, which are
54 feet away, are connected in
the centre by a lobby.
Spiralling wooden stairs at
the four corners of the building,
the high ceiling and stone
arches are some of the features
that give it a majestic
look.
The building has a clock
tower and the pendulum has
been striking every 15 minutes
- for the last 100 years.
Gass Forest Museum
Location: Forest College campus
Built in 1915
The museum is named after
H.A. Gass, the then conservator
of forests,
Coimbatore circle.
In 1902, Gass conceived the
idea of starting a museum to
represent various aspects of
forestry though a comprehensive
collection.
It was started in one of the
rooms of the conservator's office
building and was extended
to the verandah and some
other portions of the District
Forest Office. The present
building is made of red stone
and built in British Gothic
style.
The ventilation is such that
light spreads throughout the
hall. The folding in the four
corners give the building the
strength to withstand perpendicular
seismic impact, if
any. The iron pillars in the
hall were imported from Britain.
During World War-II, the
museum was closed to accommodate
evacuees from
Greece and Malta. In 2002,
the great great grandchildren
of Gass visited the museum.
M. SOUNDARIYA PREETHA
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