Calcutta and Kolkata: Places how they look different now than 100 years back: January 2017

Time changes and everything changes with time. Though nothing is constant, sometimes observing how people and places around us evolve with time, certainly gives a pleasure and for someone like me a lot of pleasure, particularly when these changes center around places we visit frequently. I am sharing some pictures of places from the bygone era, the picture themselves will tell the time they belong to. Next time when you pass by these places on your way, if the pictures make you halt and narrate to your companion or in the absence of anyone, narrate to yourself, how these places looked like many many, sometimes more than 100 years ago, then I will consider this worth writing a few lines on them.

Some of these pictures I proudly possess and some of them I tried but unfortunately failed to possess, so they do not belong to me, but that in no way harms the copyright of them.

Lets start with the center, in every sense. Dharmatala....

Sacred Heart Church is seen here.

Tipu Sultan Masjid itself.

Trams going through Lenin Sarani, the building at left most corner is where KC Das is now found

Picture taken with gaslight on the left

Picture from a little different angle. Cook and Kelvey, the clock and jewellery shop's advertisement can be seen

Picture taken with gaslight on the right

How the road now named as Lenin Sarani came into existence

Picture of mosque, Tip Sultan Masjid, from the end of Lenin Sarani but no road was there.

road came into existence

An unseen picture of the mosque

Now moving towards Metropolitan building

Picture taken with the gaslight in the middle

Bristol Hotel, can be seen, in the next picture this Hotel will change its appearance

Looking at the crossing from another side. A magic lantern glass slide picture

Now the Metropolitan Building can be seen. In the space between Bristol Hotel and Metropolitan Building, will appear later Metro Cinema Hall

At a much later date, after journey of Metro Cinema started


Metro Cinema from opposite side

At far end Victoria House is seen. Lets have a close look at it

After Turning left from Dharmatala crossing towards East, we have Roman Catholic Church..or Sacred Heart Church

Just crossing the road from where we are now taking this picture, getting on of top of a building and looking at the road, it looked like..

Now we can see the Methodist Church near Wellington Crossing.

Now crossing the carrefour and gettin on the opposite side and looking at the church

Methodist Church from Wellington Crossing

Now moving south, I have to start with Whiteaway Laidlaw & Co Ltd. The Metropolitan Building that now houses BigBazaar, in Dharmatala, next to Metro Cinema.

At the start of its journey.

Look at the trees on the right hand side where we have now Esplanade Metro Station and lots, lots and lots of hawkers, food vendors, and traffic signal.

Here now we have traffic and a broad road too. The traffic guard here wears the STOP signal on his chest.

What about crossing the road and getting on top of Monument and taking picture of Metropolitan Building. Lets see how it looks

Metropolitan Building from Monument

Now we have it in its current appearance.

Now crossing the road and moving towards the Grand Hotel. Just crossing the hotel was found Continental Hotel. You can see the Grand hotel. At the southern end of the Hotel Continental now we have the ATM of HSBC bank. So next time when you happen to withdraw money from this ATM, just imagine how it looked 100 years ago.

Looking at Hotel continental from other end than previous one, just from opposite end

What about crossing the road and get on top of then known as Octerlony Monument and take picture of this Hotel Continental??

Hotel Continental from Monument, 1911

Leftmost building is Hotel Continental. Grand Hotel also with three buildings can be seen.

In this later picture you can still find the Hotel Continental but had already lost its glory, in part by itself and in most part by its surroundings. A close look will not miss the architectural details still maintained in the later picture.

After Hotel Continental and crossing the road coming to next available establishment after Hotel Continental is Grand Hotel itself. Let's see how it changed its look over so many years.

After Grand Hotel, comes Firpo's, now though some of the shops still bear the name of Firpo, no signboard or anything like that could be found.

But one can still find the facade of Austin Showroom exactly in the same condition and the ornamental crown above the name "Austin" is still the same.


Another picture of Firpo's with closer look

This is the menu card of Firpo's from 1945.

Moving southward from Firpo's, we come to Lindsay Street Crossing and a left turn leads to New Market. Really sorry to say that the tower clock no longer runs, let alone chiming its beautiful Westminster tunes, owing to a sheer negligence of the Heritage Commission.

Picture of Lindsay street taken from New Market

On the opposite side of the Lindsay Street crossing, which is known as Manohar Das Tarag, now being taken good care of by the KMC from previous malodorous state.

Woodcut printing of Manohardas Tarag published in a French journal from that era.

After Lindsay Street Crossing comes YMCA building

Now we get on to the rooftop of YMCA building and look at Chowringhee

Crossing Lindsay Street, now we have Sudder Street.

And it is still maintaining at least some of its its old charm including the church and excluding the hawker-packed footpaths. Northern part of Indian Museum can also be seen.

Museum Front view

After Indian Museum comes United Service Club, which now houses Geological Survey of India

A closer look, now in front of it we have an entrance of Park Street Metro

United Service Club, now Geological Survey of India, please compare the above two pictures

After United Service Club, we cross the road called Kyd Street

Crossing Kyd Street, we get under the porch of Chowringhee Mansion at Chowringhee or Park Street Crossing.. Those days, this road was know as Burial Ground Road, owing to the presence of South Park Street Cemetery situated at the far eastern part of this road.

At the leftmost corner only a part of a statue is seen. This was the statue was of Lord Outram mounted on his favorite horse, which was later replaced by Gandhi statue and that too had to be removed to facilitate smooth traffic. At a later picture we will have a full view of this statue.

Taking a left turn from Park Street crossing, the view that used to come to pedestrians' sight.

Queens Mansion on the right. On left no Park Hotel was there. At far left end, Park Mansion could be seen which now houses Alliance Francaise and soon Goethe Institut.

Now looking at this crossing from the Park Mansion end.

On left side Stuart & Co is now Vodafone Store and on the opposite side of the road there is now Au Bon Pain ( previously Music World)

At the corner of Park Street, we had Hall and Anderson, where we have now Reliance Trendz

After Hall and Anderson going southwards, the building is famous "Army and Navy Stores". The rich class of people of then Calcutta used to go this stores looking for precious and aristocratic
household items be it furniture or perfume bottle.

Army and Navy Stores, now known as Kanak Building houses CitiBank.

After Army Navy Stores the available picture of that era in my possession is Kalighat temple. See how the looks changed. At first picture, there was no building on the bank of Tolly Nalah. Then a building erected and then the building changes its along with the temple as time passed by.