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| The Mayo Hall, Bangalore BangaloreBest.com |
The Mayo Hall in Bangalore is an impressive building made of brick and mortar, still standing in its pristine glory without losing its historical and heritage values. Like the Mayo Memorial at Allahabad, this structure was built in honor of the then fourth Viceroy of India (1872), Lord Mayo who was killed while on official duty. In the period 1869–1872, Mayo travelled extensively i across India and was greatly impressed, and stated that Britain
should hold India "as long as the sun shines in heaven". When he was on an official visit to the Convict settlement at Port Blair, the Andaman Islands in February 1872, a convict by the name of Sher Ali Afridi, a Pathan assassinated Sir Mayo with a knife.
It took a while to complete the building in Bangalore for various reasons; the work that began in 1875, was completed only in 1883. Right from the outset the Bangalore Municipal Authority had begun functioning from here in 1883 on condition that the upper floor should be made available to meeting of public nature without any charges. Institutions like the Mayo Hospital (1871) and the Mayo School of Arts at Lahore (1875), now in Pakistan came up subsequently. The Mayo Hall is close to yet another colonial building previously called “station public offices”. It was built in 1904 and inaugurated by Sir James Bourdillion, the then British Resident in Mysore. This impressive block and Mayo Hall building enhance the beauty of this area, forming prominent part of the city.
In the Bangalore District Gazetteer (page No.946), it is mentioned that the cost of the building was Rs 45,000.00 out of which Rs. 25,000.00 was met by way of public subscription. A sum of Rs 5,000 was spent on furnishing the place.
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| The Mayo Hall, Bangalore.trip2blr.com/ |
The Mayo Hall is adorned with tall columns chandeliers, Greek cornices, Tuscan columns, stone arches, wooden floors and beautiful furnishing. The moldings atop have minute friezes in mortar. The building has good elevation, pedimented windows, varied with key-storied arches, nicely executed consoles, finely executed balustraded ledges and typical Greek cornice, according to the Gazetteer.
The Mayo Hall is atop a hilly area and offers a panoramic view of adjacent places such as Bangalore race course, Parade grounds, Brigade grounds, and the Lake Ulsoor. It is next to the Public Utility Building on M.G. Road.
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| Lord Mayo Chughtai's Art Blog |
Mayo Hall served as the office of the Bangalore Mahanagar Palike for a long time but today it has just a few offices of the BMP while some traffic courts also function inside the premises. BMP had built a fountain park in front of Mayo Hall to make it pleasant for the visitors.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mayo_Hall_(Bangalore)
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