Town Hall Road

The Town Hall road at Madurai is a very busy commercial street that connects the west veli and west Masi streets. The koodal alagar Perumal Koil tank , suposed to be the major landmark on this road, is not seen at all, as shops have mushroomed and covered the view over the years... the road has also evolved from residential before 100 years to commercial with lots of small electronic shops, lodges, restaurants , etc in the past 50 years...

The Town Hall road in Madurai derives its name from the Victoria Edward Town Hall built in 1912. The building is a mix of Gothic and Victorian style of Architecture and still looks well preserved. The main hall functioned as a place for public and british government events in the begining. The building was used to stage plays during the pre to post independent years. I have heard from my grandfather that stalwarts like MR Radha have showcased dramas here. Later it got converted into a cinema theatre by the name 'Regal talkies' and screened English movies . I have seen a few Hollywood movies during my school days. Now it goes by the name 'thanga regal' and screens only Tamil movies.

The town hall

 Thanks to my friend Architect Ramji, i came to know that there is also a big library and reading section in this building. Ramji used to spend his evenings here and i have visited this section few times to meet him. The library section has a huge collection of old and rare books. 

From the 1980s- courtesy thoonganagara ninaivugal

Clipped from Google maps today...surprised to see the same guy in orange shirt 😀
 

Town Hall road in the heart of the city holds many nostalgic memories from my childhood...

1. The Taj restaurant - occasional family dinner in the family room in the 1980s .. the Taj biriyani was a must order dish. We used to know the waiters by name in those days...

2. Indo ceylon restaurant that lasted only for a few years in the 1980s- where i tasted my first ceylon parotas..

3. Bata showroom - school shoes purchased here every year.

4. Prem Vilas- best halwas... remains to this day from the 1950s! 

5. The visually challenged flautist who sold bamboo flutes and played haunting tunes .. i have bought flutes from him a couple of times as a kid.

Few images i had clipped from the google maps...

The only project i had done on the Townhall road during my architectural practice days in Madurai  - Venus Electronics.( in the year 2004). One of the most challenging sites due to its location.  The building facade today looks renovated and totally different from what I had done.

The chaos 

Ravi towers - designed during the 1980s by my architecture professor Thirumeni .

The new college house  

The famous Prema villas on the left...the townhall 'thanga regal' theatre seen across the road

The jama masjid on the right 

The w veli street - townhall road junction today...

The w veli street- townhall road junction on a rainy day from the 1980s... (pic courtesy madras timess fb page)

The new College House - a complex building with shops + restaurant + budget lodging ...one of the oldest landmarks on townhall road- has a history of its own!