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Photo: Arvind Iyer from Mumbai, India, CC BY-SA 2.0 via Wikimedia Commons
The convocation hall of the University of Mumbai, built between 1869 and 1874. Designed by Londoner Sir George Gilbert Scott who never visited Bombay, the building is named after Cowasji Jehangir Readymoney who funded the construction. The building contains a circular stained glass window at the front with designs of the Zodiac signs, and a semi-circular chancel at the back.
The Convocation Hall or Cowasji Jehangir Convocation Hall at the University of Mumbai is part of the Victorian buildings complex around the Oval Maidan in Mumbai that is a UNESCO World Heritage Site. It was built between 1869 and 1874, and designed by Sir George Gilbert Scott, who incidentally never visited Bombay and worked from London.
© OpenStreetMap contributors
Similar to the Big Ben of London, the tower was built in a fusion of Venetian and Gothic styles. It is built out of the locally available buff-coloured Kurla stone. The tower has one of the best-stained glass windows in the city. The ground floor has two side rooms, each measuring 140 m². The tower forms a carriage porch 2.4 m², and a spiral staircase vestibule of 2.6 m². The tower, over the carriage porch, has a square form up to the gallery at the top of the first level which is at a height of 20.7 m from the ground. The form changes from a square to an octagon and the height from this gallery to the top of the tower is 36 m and the third stage to the top of the finial is 28.7 m, thus making a total height of 85 m. It chimes every 15 minutes. The Rajabai Clock Tower is best viewed and photographed from the Oval Maidan.
A large urban open space in the heart of Mumbai. It covers an area of and is oval in shape and hence the name Oval Maidan. It is a recreational ground with cricket and football being the most popular sports. The ground is also used by morning and evening walkers. The park is maintained by the Oval-Cooperage Residents Association, and all sorts of functions, picnics and political rallies are banned in the park. The park has been fenced off and a jogging track added along the inner periphery. A paved lane cut through the diameter of the ground to facilitate a smoother thoroughfare. On the northern side of the Oval Maidan lies the Western Railway Office. The eastern side is flanked by the Old Secretariat Building, Rajabai Clock Tower of Mumbai University and the Bombay High Court. The eastern side of the Oval Maidan is lined with a series of Art Deco buildings.
The massive building of Bombay High Court lies on the northeastern side of the Oval Maidan. It follows the Victorian Neo-Gothic style of architecture and was constructed by Col. James A. Fuller of the Royal Engineers. The building was completed in 1878 and is 562 feet (171 m) long and 187 feet (57 m) wide. The central part of the western side is an elevated section flanked by two octagonal towers. The towers are crowned with the statues of Justice and Mercy. The Bombay High Court is best viewed and photographed from the Oval Maidan.
formerly Watson's Hotel
It was once one of the most posh hotels in the area, now in a pathetic condition due to negligence. There's a popular myth that Jamsetji Tata was refused entry to the hotel and he went on to build the Taj Mahal Palace Hotel near the Gateway of India. However, there's no evidence behind this story, and it's mainly shared to highlight his success stories.
This is a famous library and heritage structure. The idea for a library to be built in the centre of the city was the brainchild of Albert Sassoon, son of the famous Baghdadi Jewish philanthropist, David Sassoon. The building was designed by architects J. Campbell and G. E. Gosling, for Scott McClelland and Company, at a cost of ₹125,000. David Sassoon donated ₹60,000, while the rest was borne by the Government of Bombay Presidency. The building, completed in 1870, is built using yellow Malad stone, much like the abutting Elphinstone College, Army and Navy Buildings and Watson's Hotel. Above the entrance portico is a white stone bust of David Sassoon.
काळा घोडा Kāḷā Ghoḍā
Literally "Black Horse", Kala Ghoda is Mumbai's crescent-shaped art district. The name originally referred to a black equestrian statue of King Edward VII built by Jewish businessman and philanthropist David Sassoon. There used to be an urban legend that the Kala Ghoda statue and another equestrian statue of Shivaji at the Gateway of India come to life at midnight and fight together on the street. Although Edward VII's statue was removed in 1965 and placed inside the Jijamata Udyan, a new "Kala Ghoda" statue was sculpted and installed at the precinct without the rider in 2017. An arts festival is held here annually on February, which is a must-see.