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Photo: Nick Gray, CC BY-SA 2.0 via Wikimedia Commons
The historic financial heart of Mumbai, and home to the iconic Bombay Stock Exchange (BSE). Like New York's Wall Street, Dalal Street is a metonym for India's big business, stock market and the entire financial industry based in Mumbai. A narrow alley running between Mumbai Samachar Marg and Nagindas Master Rd, Dalal Street is named after the Marathi word for broker, as local brokers were trading informally under banyan trees near Horniman Circle in the 1850s. In 1875, they formed the Native Share and Stock Brokers’ Association, which is now the Bombay Stock Exchange (BSE).
Dalal Street, is the metonym for the financial markets of India, the Indian financial services industry of the country as a whole, or the actual financial district itself. It is located in the Financial District of Fort in Mumbai and is the address of the Bombay Stock Exchange and several other major financial institutions of the world. The Marathi word dalāl means "a broker", "a go-between".
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בית הכנסת אליהו
Synagogue built in 1884 by Jacob Elias Sassoon and his brother Albert Sassoon in memory of their father Eliyahoo David Sassoon, who was the son of David Sassoon. It was designed by the British architectural firm Gostling & Morris. The exteriors are a combination of blue and white and it is known as Mumbai's Blue Synagogue. The synagogue is a combination of Neo-Classical and Gothic-Victorian architecture. The exterior faces contain Corinthian columns and triangular pediments. The interior contains beautiful stained glass windows with floral motifs. The floor is laid out with beautiful tiles and there are ornamental pillars. The women's gallery is on the first floor. The central platform has metal ornamental railings. The Ark facing Jerusalem has a beautiful ornate wooden door and inside there are several Torah scrolls.
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.
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.
Completed in 1718, it is the first Anglican church in Mumbai, to improve the "moral standards" of the growing British settlement. One of the gates in the Fort which the East India Company had built to protect their settlement was the entrance to the St. Thomas Church. It was called Churchgate. That is why the whole area towards the West of the Church is called “Churchgate” even today. The church was consecrated a cathedral in July 1837. The tower and the clock at the western end were added in 1838. About 25 years later a major renovation scheme was launched to enlarge the chancel. This was completed by 1865. The cathedral marks colonial Bombay's point zero, the exact centre of the city. Today a plaque at the entrance of the cathedral narrates the history of zero point.
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.
The building has been designed by Durga Bajpai and is one of the early concrete structures in the city. The gallery has been turned inwards due to a combined function of an auditorium and an art gallery.