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Victoria Public Hall
13°04′55″N 80°16′21″E / 13.08192°N 80.2726°E
Victoria Public Hall, or the Town Hall, is a historical building in Chennai, named after Victoria, Empress of India. It is one of the finest examples of British architecture in Chennai and was built to commemorate the Golden Jubilee of Queen Victoria. In the late 19th and early 20th centuries, it was used as a theater and a place for public gatherings. The South Indian Athletic Association Club now resides there.
In a meeting held in March 1882 at the Pachaiyappa's Hall in George Town by some leading citizens, the decision to construct a town hall for Madras was taken. This resulted in the mobilisation of a sum of ₹ 16,425 from around 30 persons who attended the meeting, and a 12-member trust was formed for the execution of the project. The municipal corporation leased a 57-ground (3.14 acres) site in the People's Park to the Victoria Public Hall Trust for 99 years effective from 1 April 1886 at a lease rent of eight annas a ground or ₹ 28 for the property. The then Maharajah of Vizianagaram, Sir Pusapati Ananda Gajapati Raju, who laid the foundation stone for the new building on 17 December 1883, also led a list of 35 donors for the construction work with a contribution of ₹ 10,000. The list included the Travancore Maharajah (₹ 8,000), Mysore Maharajah, Pudukottai Rajah and former Madras High Court Judge Muthuswamy Iyer (all ₹ 1,000 each) and P.Orr and Sons, a city-based watch company (₹ 1,400). Other contributors included Ramnad Raja Bhaskara Setupati, Zamindar of Ettiapuram and Hadji Abdul Batcha Sahib. It took about five years to complete the construction.
The hall, an example of Indo-Saracenic architecture, was designed by Robert Fellowes Chisholm (1840–1915) in the Romanesque style and was built by Namperumal Chetty between 1888 and 1890. It was opened to the public by Lord Connemara in 1887, although another version suggests that Sir Mountstuart Elphinstone Grant Duff, the governor of Madras during 1886–1890, declared open the hall. In January 1888, a citizens' meeting decided to name the hall after Queen Victoria. The then Municipal Corporation President Sir A.T. Arundale took the initiative.
The hall soon become a venue of important public and social events. Several eminent personalities, including Mahatma Gandhi and Swami Vivekananda, have visited the hall. National leaders like Swami Vivekananda, Gopal Krishna Gokhale, and Sardar Vallabhai Patel have addressed meetings in the hall. The pioneers of Tamil play, such as Sankaradoss Swamigal and Pammal Sambanda Mudaliar, have staged their plays at the hall.
The Suguna Vilasa Sabha (SVS), founded in 1891, was most closely associated with the hall. It conducted the first evening drama shows in Madras. In October 1906, the play Kaadalar Kangal was staged at the hall. For the next 30 years, the Sabha remained at the hall and later, built its own theatre on acquisition of 36 grounds next to Christ Church on Anna Salai and now functions only as a social club.
The Justice Party was established on 20 November 1916 in the hall and it is seen as the start of the Dravidian Movement.
It was there that the first cinema show was held in Chennai. T. Stevenson, proprietor of the Madras Photographic Store, ran some shows that consisted of ten short films.
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Victoria Public Hall
13°04′55″N 80°16′21″E / 13.08192°N 80.2726°E
Victoria Public Hall, or the Town Hall, is a historical building in Chennai, named after Victoria, Empress of India. It is one of the finest examples of British architecture in Chennai and was built to commemorate the Golden Jubilee of Queen Victoria. In the late 19th and early 20th centuries, it was used as a theater and a place for public gatherings. The South Indian Athletic Association Club now resides there.
In a meeting held in March 1882 at the Pachaiyappa's Hall in George Town by some leading citizens, the decision to construct a town hall for Madras was taken. This resulted in the mobilisation of a sum of ₹ 16,425 from around 30 persons who attended the meeting, and a 12-member trust was formed for the execution of the project. The municipal corporation leased a 57-ground (3.14 acres) site in the People's Park to the Victoria Public Hall Trust for 99 years effective from 1 April 1886 at a lease rent of eight annas a ground or ₹ 28 for the property. The then Maharajah of Vizianagaram, Sir Pusapati Ananda Gajapati Raju, who laid the foundation stone for the new building on 17 December 1883, also led a list of 35 donors for the construction work with a contribution of ₹ 10,000. The list included the Travancore Maharajah (₹ 8,000), Mysore Maharajah, Pudukottai Rajah and former Madras High Court Judge Muthuswamy Iyer (all ₹ 1,000 each) and P.Orr and Sons, a city-based watch company (₹ 1,400). Other contributors included Ramnad Raja Bhaskara Setupati, Zamindar of Ettiapuram and Hadji Abdul Batcha Sahib. It took about five years to complete the construction.
The hall, an example of Indo-Saracenic architecture, was designed by Robert Fellowes Chisholm (1840–1915) in the Romanesque style and was built by Namperumal Chetty between 1888 and 1890. It was opened to the public by Lord Connemara in 1887, although another version suggests that Sir Mountstuart Elphinstone Grant Duff, the governor of Madras during 1886–1890, declared open the hall. In January 1888, a citizens' meeting decided to name the hall after Queen Victoria. The then Municipal Corporation President Sir A.T. Arundale took the initiative.
The hall soon become a venue of important public and social events. Several eminent personalities, including Mahatma Gandhi and Swami Vivekananda, have visited the hall. National leaders like Swami Vivekananda, Gopal Krishna Gokhale, and Sardar Vallabhai Patel have addressed meetings in the hall. The pioneers of Tamil play, such as Sankaradoss Swamigal and Pammal Sambanda Mudaliar, have staged their plays at the hall.
The Suguna Vilasa Sabha (SVS), founded in 1891, was most closely associated with the hall. It conducted the first evening drama shows in Madras. In October 1906, the play Kaadalar Kangal was staged at the hall. For the next 30 years, the Sabha remained at the hall and later, built its own theatre on acquisition of 36 grounds next to Christ Church on Anna Salai and now functions only as a social club.
The Justice Party was established on 20 November 1916 in the hall and it is seen as the start of the Dravidian Movement.
It was there that the first cinema show was held in Chennai. T. Stevenson, proprietor of the Madras Photographic Store, ran some shows that consisted of ten short films.