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Victoria Terminus © Advait Supnekar
Fort Area
The magnificent Gothic Victorian buildings in the Fort area
highlight the power and wealth of the British Empire at its might
and are reminiscent of many of the great public buildings in London
or Glasgow. The Victoria Terminus (known as CST), was opened in
1888 and is one of the world's grandest railway stations, on a par
with New York's Grand Central Station or London's St Pancras. Built
in the Italian Gothic style, it looks more like a lavishly
decorated cathedral than a railway station; massive arches soar
splendidly above the scurrying crowd and carved into the pillars
and buttresses are images of monkeys, peacocks, elephants and
lions. The station is topped by a tall dome crowned with a statue
representing 'Progress'. Nearby, St Thomas' Cathedral was built
between 1672 and 1718 and is witness to almost the entire history
of the British in Bombay. Its whitewashed interior contains
poignant colonial memorials, including one to Henry Robertson
Bower, Lieutenant of the Royal Indian Marine, who lost his life
returning from the South Pole with Captain Scott. The epicentre of
the Fort area is the Horniman Circle, surrounded by curved, arcaded
terraces. The lush and leafy garden in the centre offers a welcome
retreat from the hustle and bustle of the surrounding city.
Address: South Mumbai
Transport: The Fort area is situated 2km from Chhatrapati Shivaji Terminus (CST)