Friday, May 2, 2008

Fort

View:- New Fort area

In 1769 Fort George was built on the site of the Dongri Fort. In 1772 an order was promulgated to segregate Indian and English houses, both within and outside the Fort.The fort walls had three main gates. One was the Apollo Gate near the present day location of the St. Andrew's Church. The most well-known was Churchgate named after St. Thomas standing almost exactly on the spot that the Flora Foutain now occupies. The third was the Bazaar Gate right opposite the present dome of the General Post Office (GPO) which lends its name to the area even now long after the gate itself has disappeared. A British town ship grew up inside the fort walls. A few wealthy Indian merchants were allowed to build houses inside the fort. Businesses moved into the Fort area displacing residents. With control assured over India, the fort walls were torn down, and the area was converted into the central district of Bombay city. More of Bombay's landmarks were built in this and adjoining areas. Many of the landmarks date from this period-University of Mumbai, Flora Foutain, Chhatrapati Shivaji Terminus, Muncipal Corporation of Greater Mumbai building .

No comments: