Esplanade Mansions, Kolkata

Not to be confused with Esplanade Mansion, Mumbai.

Esplanade Mansion
Esplanade Mansion front view, 2014
General information
Architectural style	Art Nouveau
Location	Kolkata, West Bengal
Address	Esplanade, 700069 [1]
Country	India
Coordinates	22°33′59″N88°20′56″E / 22.56639°N 88.34889°E / 22.56639; 88.34889 Coordinates: 22°33′59″N88°20′56″E / 22.56639°N 88.34889°E / 22.56639; 88.34889
Completed	1910
Owner	Life Insurance Corporation
Design and construction
Architect	Martin & Co,

The Esplanade Mansions is a heritage building located in the Indian city of Kolkata, on the Esplanade Row and Marx Engels Beethi Road crossing, opposite to the Raj Bhavan. It was one of the buildings owned by Jewish businessman David Elias Ezra. The residential building was built in the Art Nouveau architecture style. Today it is owned by Life Insurance Corporation and houses commercial, railways and other government offices.

Location

The Esplanade Mansion is in the city centre, Esplanade opposite the official residence of the governor of West Bengal, Raj Bhavan and Curzon Park. The building occupies a site bounded by Esplanade Row to the south, Marx Engels Beethi Road (or Old Courthouse Street) to the west and James Hickey Sarani (or Dacres Lane) to the east. ^{[2] [3]} Nearby major structures include Metropolitan Building, The LaLit Great Eastern, Currency Building etc. ^[4]

History

It was owned and built by a Jewish business magnate, David Elias Ezra in 1910. He also became the Commissioner of the Calcutta Municipal in 1876 and a member of the Road and Conservancy Committee. Other properties he owned included the Chowringhee Mansions, Ezra Mansions etc. Previously, the site was Scott Thompson’s shop and two houses. Martin & Co. was contracted for the construction. It was built as a residential building of the Ezra family. During WWII, it used to be the American Library. ^{[5] [6]}

It is the sole Art Nouveau building in the city. ^[7] A blend of Art Nouveau ^{[8] [9]} and Edwardian architecture can be seen in the corner tower and cupola. It has circular balconies and arched windows. The residential property has 24 flats. ^{[2] [10]} It is listed as a Grade-I heritage building by the Kolkata Municipal Corporation. ^[11]

Today

Entrance of the mansion

The Life Insurance Corporation (LIC) owns around 30 properties in Esplanade. The Esplanade Mansions is one of them. ^[12] It also houses the office of the Chief Public Relations Officer of the Eastern Railways on the Raj Bhavan side and the Railway Claims Tribunal ^[13] on the Curzon Park side, both on the ground floor. ^[14] In 2003, LIC decided to renovate the building. The colour of the building was changed from lilac to white at a cost of ₹ 11 lakh (equivalent to ₹34 lakhorUS$46,000 in 2020). ^[15]

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See also

• Dharmatala
• Howrah Bridge
• North Kolkata
• Chowringhee

References

1. "Distribution Matrix for Railway Claims Tribunals (RCT's)". rct.indianrail.gov.in. Retrieved 27 May 2021.
2. "Kolkata On Wheels". kolkataonwheels.com. Archived from the original on 25 May 2021. Retrieved 25 May 2021.
3. "Detail Maps of 141 Wards of Kolkata" (PDF). p. 45. Archived (PDF) from the original on 25 May 2021. Retrieved 26 May 2021.
4. "Esplanade Mansions". Google Maps . Archived from the original on 21 July 2021. Retrieved 4 June 2021.
5. Goyal, Anuradha (23 May 2016). "Kolkata - Colonial Calcutta Heritage Walk". Inditales. Archived from the original on 26 May 2021. Retrieved 26 May 2021.
6. Kolkata: City Guide. New Delhi: Eicher Goodearth Publications. 2011. pp. 39, 48. ISBN   978-93-80262-15-4. Archived from the original on 21 July 2021. Retrieved 20 June 2021.
7. Ghosh, Deepanjan. "City secrets: Art Deco architecture spread across Kolkata, thanks to a state law – and jugaad". Scroll.in. Archived from the original on 21 July 2021. Retrieved 26 May 2021.
8. Desāī, Mādhavī; Desai, Madhavi; Desai, Miki; Lang, Jon (2012). The Bungalow in Twentieth-Century India: The Cultural Expression of Changing Ways of Life and Aspirations in the Domestic Architecture of Colonial and Post-colonial Society. Ashgate Publishing, Ltd. p. 75. ISBN   978-1-4094-2738-4. Archived from the original on 21 July 2021. Retrieved 20 June 2021.
9. Lang, Jon T. (2002). A Concise History of Modern Architecture in India. Orient Blackswan. pp. 11–12. ISBN   978-81-7824-017-6. Archived from the original on 21 July 2021. Retrieved 20 June 2021.
10. "Recalling Jewish Calcutta". jewishcalcutta.in. Archived from the original on 26 May 2021. Retrieved 26 May 2021.
11. "Graded List of Heritage Buildings" (PDF). kmcgov.in. Kolkata Municipal Corporation. 25 February 2009. p. 43. Archived (PDF) from the original on 22 December 2015. Retrieved 27 May 2021.
12. "LIC to launch inspection drive". The Times of India. 27 March 2010. Archived from the original on 26 May 2021. Retrieved 26 May 2021.
13. "Distribution Matrix for Railway Claims Tribunals (RCT's)". rct.indianrail.gov.in. Retrieved 27 May 2021.
14. "The Restoration of Esplanade Mansions - Animesh Ray Photography". Animesh Ray Design & Photography. 18 August 2013. Archived from the original on 26 May 2021. Retrieved 26 May 2021.
15. Das, Soumitra (27 February 2003). "LIC buildings in the pink of health". The Telegraph. Archived from the original on 26 May 2021. Retrieved 26 May 2021.