| Location | George Town, Chennai |
|---|---|
| Type | Art deco |
| Material | Concrete |
| Height | 60 feet (18 m) |
| Opening date | 1948 |
Mint Clock Tower is a standalone clock tower in George Town, Chennai, India. It is one of the four standalone clock towers in Chennai, the other three being the ones at Royapettah, Doveton and Pulianthope. [1]
The first standalone clock tower in the city was built at Doveton Junction at Purasawalkam in the early 1900s. Before the tower was built, until the end of the 19th century, officers at Fort St. George used to fire cannonballs at 8:00 p.m. every day. This practice, however, stopped after the construction of the first standalone clock tower. Following this, a similar tower was built at Mint Junction in George Town. [2]
The clock at the tower was built by Gani and Sons, initially known as the South India Watch Company, which was started in 1909 by Haji Mirza Abdul Gani Namazi of Iranian descent. It is the company that also provided clocks for the independent clock towers at Royapettah, Choolai and Tiruvottiyur among others. [3] The clock tower was inaugurated in 1948 by the then Mayor of Madras U. Krishna Rao. [1]
The clock tower is located at the Mint Junction, where Basin Bridge Road, North Wall Road, Mint Street, and Old Jail Road meet.
The clock tower remains a classic example of art deco architecture in the city. The features of the clock tower include linear model, thin lines, high use of cement concrete, rich usage of colours and fewer floral engravings. The architectural style of the clock tower was influenced by the Industrial and the French revolutions, as were the other clock towers and cinema theatres built in the city in the 1900s. [2]
The tower is 60 feet (18 m) high. Each of the dials on the clock is made of aluminium and measures 4 feet (1.2 m) in diameter. [2] The clock has a pendulum, a swinging weight, as its time-keeping element and runs on weight-driven mechanism. The internal mechanism consists of six iron plates tied to a metal rope, which are connected to a chain of wheels. As the wheels rotate, they move the iron plates down, moving the brass pointer on the dial. [2] The clock has to be manually wound using a spanner as key once every 30 hours. [1] The clock stops working, however, once the plates hit the floor. The plates are lifted manually once a week by keying it. [2]
The clock had been defunct for several decades. [4] In 2013, following the construction of Mint flyover at the junction, the Corporation decided to revive the clock tower. In January 2014, the Chennai Corporation and P. Orr & Sons jointly completed renovating the tower. On 17 January 2014, the clock was run on a trial basis following repairs. [2]
An astronomical clock, horologium, or orloj is a clock with special mechanisms and dials to display astronomical information, such as the relative positions of the Sun, Moon, zodiacal constellations, and sometimes major planets.
Transport in Chennai includes various modes of air, sea, road and rail transportation in the city and its suburbs. Chennai's economic development has been closely tied to its port and transport infrastructure, and it is considered one of the best infrastructure systems in India.
Thiruvallikeni known as Triplicane, is one of the oldest neighbourhoods of Chennai, India. It is situated on the Bay of Bengal coast and about 0.6 km (0.37 mi) from Fort St George. The average elevation of the neighbourhood is 14 metres above sea level.
Basin Bridge Junction is a station on the Chennai Suburban Railway and serves the locality of Pulianthope & Moolakothalam, the confluence on the Otteri Nullah and Buckingham Canal, in Chennai, India. The station is located at the southern end of the 'diamond' junction in Chennai, where all the lines of the Chennai Suburban Railway meet. It is the first station after Chennai Central. At this station, the line divides into three: one going towards Avadi and Arakkonam, the other towards Ennore and Gummidipoondi, and the third towards Chennai Beach and Chennai Egmore. Thus, the station acts as the entry point to Chennai Central terminus where inbound trains from all the three lines are stopped before assigning a platform at Chennai Central. It also contains a railway maintenance shed with 19 pit-lines, each measuring 3-ft deep to accommodate about 24 coaches. The station has an elevation of 7 m above sea level.
Rajiv Gandhi Government General Hospital is a major state-owned hospital situated in Chennai, India. The hospital is funded and managed by the state government of Tamil Nadu. Founded in 1664 by the British East India Company, it is the first modern hospital in India. In the 19th century, the Madras Medical College joined it. As of 2018, the hospital receives an average of 12,000 outpatients every day.
The Chennai Suburban Railway is a commuter rail system in the city of Chennai, Tamil Nadu, India, operated by the Southern Railways branch of Indian Railways. It is the second largest suburban rail network in terms of route length and the third largest in terms of commuters in India. Around 1,000 services are operated daily between 4:00 a.m. and midnight. It is the longest suburban circular route in India covering of 235.5 km (146.3 mi).
Anna Salai, formerly known as St. Thomas Mount Road or simply Mount Road, is an arterial road in Chennai, India. It starts at the Cooum Creek, south of Fort St George, leading in a south-westerly direction towards St. Thomas Mount, and ends at the Kathipara Junction in Guindy. Beyond the Kathipara Junction, a branch road arises traversing westwards to Poonamallee to form the Mount-Poonamallee Road while the main branch continuing southwards to Chennai Airport, Tambaram and beyond to form Grand Southern Trunk Road. Anna Salai, which is more than 400 years old, is acknowledged as the most important road in Chennai city. The head offices of many commercial enterprises and public buildings are located along Anna Salai. It is the second longest road in Chennai, after EVR Periyar Salai.
The Egmore Eye Hospital, officially the Regional Institute of Ophthalmology and Government Ophthalmic Hospital, is a public eye hospital in Chennai, India. Considered the oldest eye hospital in Asia, the institute was established in 1819 and is the second oldest hospital of its kind, next only to the Moorfields Eye Hospital in the United Kingdom.
George Town is a neighbourhood in Chennai, Tamil Nadu, India. It is near the Fort Saint George, Chennai. It is also known as Muthialpet and Parry's corner. It is an historical area of Chennai city from where its expansion began in the 1640s. It extends from the Bay of Bengal in the east to Park town on the west. The Fort St. George is on the south, to Royapuram in the north. The Fort St. George houses the Tamil Nadu Legislative Assembly and the Secretariat. The High court of Tamil Nadu at Chennai, Dr. Ambedkar Law College, Stanley Medical College and Hospital are located here.
The Vaigai Express is an Intercity Express high-speed express train which runs daily between Madurai and Chennai, via Tiruchirappalli. It is operated by the Southern Railway zone of the Indian Railways and was introduced due to increasing demand for a day train between the cities during the 1970s. It was the first instance in which a high-speed train was introduced on a metre-gauge railway within the Southern Railway zone. Vaigai SuperFast is fondly referred to as the "King of Southern Railway"; and its rake sharer Pallavan Express "Prince of Southern Railway" running between Chennai Egmore and Karaikudi Junction are collectively known as the "Chord Line brothers".
The Rameswaram Express, previously known as the Boat Mail or Indo-Ceylon Express, is an express train that connects Mandapam with the state capital Chennai via Tambaram, Chengalpet, Melmaruvattur, Viluppuram, Cuddalore port, Chidambaram, Sirkazhi, Mayiladuthurai, Tanjore, Tiruchchirappalli, Pudukkottai, Karaikudi, Sivagangai, Manamadurai and Ramanathapuram. During the 1900s, it was a combined train and steamer ferry service between India and Ceylon. Connecting Chennai and Colombo, the system initially utilised a rail-to-sea operation, but changed to a rail-to-sea-to-rail operation. Passengers could buy a single ticket for the journey. Now, it runs from Chennai Egmore to Rameswaram via Villuppuram, Kumbakonam, Tiruchchirappalli, Pudukkottai, Karaikkudi, Devakottai, Manamadurai, Paramakkudi, Ramanathapuram, Mandapam, and Pamban.
Chennai, with historically rich records dating at least from the time of the Pallavas, houses 2,467 heritage buildings within its metropolitan area (CMA), the highest within any metropolitan area limit in India. Most of these buildings are around 200 years old and older. Chennai is home to the second largest collection of heritage buildings in the country, after Kolkata. The official list of heritage buildings was compiled by the Justice E. Padmanabhan committee. The Tamil Nadu Assembly passed the Heritage Commission Act in 2012 to preserve old heritage structures.
Government Royapettah Hospital is a major state-owned hospital situated in Royapettah in Chennai, India. The hospital with 712 beds is funded and managed by the state government of Tamil Nadu. It was founded in 1911 and is attached to Directorate of Medical Education. It is the city's largest peripheral hospital, and its limit extends up to Chengalpattu.
Vepery is a neighbourhood in the north of Chennai, India. Abutting the transportation hub of Park Town, the neighbourhood covers a rectangular area north of the Poonamallee High Road.
Old Jail Road is one of the peripheral roads that border the historical neighbourhood and commercial centre of George Town in Chennai, India. The road marks the northern boundary of the neighbourhood and is officially divided into three, namely, from west to east, the Basin Bridge Road, the Old Jail Road, and the Ibrahim Sahib Street. The road joins the Grand Northern Trunk (GNT) Road at the Wall Tax Road–GNT Road junction in the west and the Rajaji Salai in the east.
Doveton, is a neighbourhood in Purasawalkam and Vepery, and is a shopping district in Central Chennai, a metropolitan city in Tamil Nadu, India. It is the unofficial name of the neighbourhood in Purasawalkam. The area of Doveton acquired its name after Capt. John Doveton, who served as a captain commandant of the Seventh Regiment of Infantry.Capt.John Doveton is the Founder of the Doveton Group of Schools situated at no 1,Ritherdon Road, Vepery . The name Doveton originated by the presence of the Doveton group of schools in the area.
The Chennai Egmore–Kollam Junction Express is a daily train that runs between Chennai Egmore and Kollam Junction in India. It is the successor of 115 years old Quilon Mail, which ran once upon a time in metre-gauge lines between Madras and Quilon.
Royapettah Clock Tower is a standalone clock tower in the neighbourhood of Royapettah in Chennai, India. It is one of the four standalone clock towers in the city, the other three being the ones at Mint, Doveton and Pulianthope.
Royapettah is a neighbourhood of Chennai, India.
Thiru Vi Ka Salai, or the Thiru Vi Ka High Road, is one of the main streets in the downtown region of Chennai, Tamil Nadu, India. Running from north to south, the street branches off of the arterial Anna Salai north of the LIC Building and ends at Luz Corner in Mylapore, continuing as the Ramakrishna Mutt Road. The street connects the neighbourhoods of Royapettah, Mylapore and Gopalapuram. The street includes three individual stretches formerly known as General Patters Road, Westcott Road and Royapettah High Road, respectively. The longest stretch, formerly known as the Royapettah High Road, runs to a length of 1.17 km (0.73 mi). The presence of numerous automobile dealers on the northern end of the street resulted in Chennai coming to be known as The Detroit of India.
