Heritage Structures In Chennai
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Chennai Chennai, also known as Madras (List of renamed places in India#Tamil Nadu, its official name until 1996), is the capital city, capital and List of cities in Tamil Nadu by population, largest city of Tamil Nadu, the southernmost states and ...
, with historically rich records dating at least from the time of the Pallavas, houses 2,467 heritage buildings within its
metropolitan area A metropolitan area or metro is a region consisting of a densely populated urban area, urban agglomeration and its surrounding territories which share Industry (economics), industries, commercial areas, Transport infrastructure, transport network ...
( CMA), the highest within any
metropolitan area A metropolitan area or metro is a region consisting of a densely populated urban area, urban agglomeration and its surrounding territories which share Industry (economics), industries, commercial areas, Transport infrastructure, transport network ...
limit in
India India, officially the Republic of India, is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, seventh-largest country by area; the List of countries by population (United Nations), most populous country since ...
. 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 Kolkata, also known as Calcutta ( its official name until 2001), is the capital and largest city of the Indian state of West Bengal. It lies on the eastern bank of the Hooghly River, west of the border with Bangladesh. It is the primary ...
. 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. The structures will be categorised into three grades, namely, Grades I, II, and III. Grade I structures will be prime landmarks upon which no alterations will be permitted. Under Grade II, external changes on structures will be subject to scrutiny. Buildings under Grade III may be changed for 'adaptive reuse' with suitable internal and external changes.


Heritage activism

Heritage buildings are defined as notified structures of historical, architectural, or cultural significance. The heritage activism in the city began with the erstwhile
Moore Market The Moore Market Complex, (station code: MASS) or the Chennai Suburban Terminal, is a railway terminus cum commercial building complex for the Chennai Suburban Railway system, situated in Park Town in Chennai, India. The name Moore Market come ...
building fire in 1985. In 1997, the
state government A state government is the government that controls a subdivision of a country in a federal form of government, which shares political power with the federal or national government. A state government may have some level of political autonom ...
initiated action to conserve heritage buildings. In 1998, a committee headed by Director of Town and Country Planning was constituted by the government to investigate aspects related to enactment of the Heritage Act. In 1999, the committee submitted the draft of Tamil Nadu Heritage Conservation Act. In the same year,
Chennai Metropolitan Development Authority The Chennai Metropolitan Development Authority (CMDA) is the urban planning agency of Chennai in the Indian state of Tamil Nadu. The CMDA administers the Chennai Metropolitan Region, spread over an area of and covers the districts of Chennai ...
(CMDA) constituted a Heritage Conservation Committee to draft regulations to conserve heritage buildings and precincts in the Chennai Metropolitan Area (CMA). After the second master plan for the city was approved by the government on 2 September 2008, special rules for conservation of heritage buildings/precincts came into force. In 2010, the criteria for listing the heritage structures in the CMA region was finalised, and in 2011, the process of assessment and documentation of heritage structures began. A 17-member Heritage Commission was set up in May 2012 to maintain these structures, after a fire accident in Kalas Mahal, a 244-year-old heritage building in front of
Marina beach Marina Beach, or simply the Marina, is a natural urban beach in Chennai, Tamil Nadu, India, along the Bay of Bengal. The beach runs from near Fort St. George in the north to Foreshore Estate in the south, a distance of , making it the second longest ...
. As per the Commission's mandate, heritage buildings that are listed will get incentives, such as exemption from payment of taxes, and offenders who deface or destroy them will face penal action. In 2012, a list of heritage buildings was released by the Chennai Metropolitan Development Authority (CMDA) under the heritage conservation committee's (HCC) supervision. Criteria considered for notification as heritage structure include period of construction, exhibited trend, events or persons associated with the structure, and design, style, designer, physical condition, and design integrity for architecturally significant buildings. The CMDA was expected to clear the first list of 70 heritage buildings compiled by the HCC. However, in 2013, the process of notification was delayed after 65 owners objected to the inclusion of their premises in the list. The Heritage Conservation Committee, however, overruled their objections. Of the structures/precincts that figure on the list, 42 are government buildings and the remaining are private ones. The government buildings include the main building of the College of Engineering Guindy under
Anna University Anna University is a public state university located in Chennai, Tamil Nadu, India. The main campus is in Guindy. It was originally established on 4 September 1978 and is named after C. N. Annadurai, former Chief Minister of Tamil Nadu. Histor ...
,
Madras High Court The High Court of Judicature at Madras is a High Courts of India, High Court located in Chennai, India. It has appellate jurisdiction over the state of Tamil Nadu and the union territory of Puducherry (union territory), Puducherry. It is one of ...
,
General Post Office The General Post Office (GPO) was the state postal system and telecommunications carrier of the United Kingdom until 1969. Established in England in the 17th century, the GPO was a state monopoly covering the dispatch of items from a specific ...
, Music and Dance College,
Saidapet Teachers' College The Institute of Advanced Study in Education, popularly known as Teachers' College is the oldest teacher training institute in India located in Saidapet, Chennai. History It was started in Vepery as the 'Government Normal School' in 1856. The ...
and King Institute of Preventive Medicine.
Theosophical Society The Theosophical Society is the organizational body of Theosophy, an esoteric new religious movement. It was founded in New York City, U.S.A. in 1875. Among its founders were Helena Blavatsky, a Russian mystic and the principal thinker of the ...
is one of the private premises that are expected to get listed as a heritage structure. When a building is notified as a heritage structure, the onus of repair and maintenance of the heritage structure will be on the structure's owner. In July 2018, documentation of the last phase covering 192 of the 467 buildings listed by Justice E. Padhmanaban Committee began.


Grading of heritage structures

The heritage structures have been classified into three grades, viz. Grade I, II, and III. Grade I includes buildings and precincts of national or historical importance, with excellence in architecture, style and design. These structures remain the chief landmarks of the city. Save for some minimal changes approved by the Heritage Conservation Committee (HCC), no intervention, both on the interior and on the exterior, will be permitted in these structures. Grade II includes those structures of regional or local importance with special architectural or aesthetic merit, cultural or historical value. Although internal changes to the structures and adaptive reuse are allowed, here, too, external changes are allowed after scrutiny by the HCC. Extension or construction of additional buildings in the same plot are permissible as long as they are in harmony with the existing structure, especially in terms of facade and height. Grade III includes structures of importance for town spaces. These structures evoke architectural or aesthetic interest, but not as much as the Grade II structures. Changes to both external and internal portions of the buildings are generally permissible for Grade III buildings.


Structures listed by the HCC

Prominent buildings on the HCC's list include: *
Madras High Court The High Court of Judicature at Madras is a High Courts of India, High Court located in Chennai, India. It has appellate jurisdiction over the state of Tamil Nadu and the union territory of Puducherry (union territory), Puducherry. It is one of ...
*
St. Thomas Cathedral Basilica, Chennai San Thomas Church, officially known as St Thomas Cathedral Basilica and National Shrine of Saint Thomas, is a minor basilica of the Catholic Church in India, at the Santhome neighbourhood of Chennai, in Tamil Nadu. The present structure dates ba ...
* Anderson Church, Parry's * Church of Our Lady of Light (Luz Church),
Mylapore Mylapore (also spelt Mayilapur), or Thirumayilai, is a neighbourhood in the central part of the city of Chennai, India. It is one of the oldest residential parts of the city. The locality is claimed to be the birthplace of the celebrated Tamil ...
*
General Post Office The General Post Office (GPO) was the state postal system and telecommunications carrier of the United Kingdom until 1969. Established in England in the 17th century, the GPO was a state monopoly covering the dispatch of items from a specific ...
, Rajaji Salai * Royapuram Railway Terminal * Theosophical Society Headquarters Building, Adyar * City Civil Court Building, NSC Bose Road, Park Town * Madras Engineering College (Main Building), Anna University, Sardar Patel Road,
Guindy Guindy is a neighborhood of Chennai, Tamil Nadu. The Kathipara junction where Anna Salai, Mount-Poonamallee Road, Inner Ring Road, 100 Feet Road or Jawaharlal Nehru Road, and GST Road meet here. It is one of the important nodal points of ...
* Bharathiyar Illam,
Triplicane Thiruvallikeni known as Triplicane, is one of the oldest neighbourhoods of Chennai, India. It is situated on the Bay of Bengal coast and about from Fort St George. The average elevation of the neighbourhood is 14 metres above Mean sea leve ...
* Madras Club (Moubray's Cupola), Adyar Club Gate Road Structures that remain to be documented include: * Loyala College, Nungambakkam * Horticultural Society, Cathedral Road *
Royapettah Clock Tower, Chennai 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. History Befor ...
*
The Hindu ''The Hindu'' is an Indian English-language daily newspaper owned by The Hindu Group, headquartered in Chennai, Tamil Nadu. It was founded as a weekly publication in 1878 by the Triplicane Six, becoming a daily in 1889. It is one of the India ...
,
Anna Salai Anna Salai (), named for C. N. Annadurai, 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 towa ...
* Kamarajar Arangam, Anna Salai * Department of Public Instruction, College Road * Panagal Park, T. Nagar *
Music Academy A music school is an educational institution specialized in the study, training, and research of music. Such an institution can also be known as a school of music, music academy, music faculty, college of music, music department (of a larger in ...
, TTK Road * CSI School of the Deaf, Santhome High Road Buildings on the heritage list that do not exist any more include: *
Chennai Central Prison Madras Central Prison was one of the oldest prisons in India. It was located in Chennai (formerly Madras) in the Indian state of Tamil Nadu. It became operational during the British Raj period. Its prisoners were moved to the newly constructed ...
, Park Town * Old Sacred Heart Shrine, Pantheon Road * Roxy Theatre, Purasawalkam High Road * Old Jail, Prakasam Road * Old building of Kalaivanar Arangam, Wallajah Road


List of heritage structures


See also

*
Architecture of Chennai Chennai architecture is a confluence of many architecture, architectural styles. From ancient Tamil architecture, Tamil temples built by the Pallavas, to the Indo-Saracenic style (pioneered in Madras) of the British Raj, colonial era, to 20th-ce ...
*
Heritage conservation Historic preservation (US), built heritage preservation or built heritage conservation (UK) is an endeavor that seeks to preserve, conserve and protect buildings, objects, landscapes or other artifacts of historical significance. It is a philos ...
*
Architectural conservation Conservation and restoration of immovable cultural property describes the process through which the material, historical, and design integrity of any immovable cultural property are prolonged through carefully planned interventions. The indivi ...


References


Further reading

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Heritage structures in Chennai Buildings and structures in Chennai Chennai-related lists Chennai, Heritage Tourist attractions in Chennai Lists of buildings and structures in Tamil Nadu