Four heritage structures in Mumbai to get back old lustre by year-end

By the end of this year, the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) will have restored three iconic heritage structures at Fort: the Horniman Circle Pyaau (drinking water fountain), Wellington Fountain and Wadia Clock Tower

By the end of this year, the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) will have restored three iconic heritage structures at Fort: the Horniman Circle Pyaau (drinking water fountain), Wellington Fountain and Wadia Clock Tower.

The Wellington Fountainis among the four heritage sites which will be restored. (HT)

Kala Ghoda is also set to get back its black horse that gave the area its name.

Senior civic officials said they will inaugurate the historical structures before December 30.

A senior civic official on condition on anonymity said, “In case of Kala Ghoda, the sculpture should be ready in another 8-10 days. We are planning to inaugurate it on December 25.”

A 24-foot-tall, black statue of a native Indian horse will be installed on the parking lot opposite the David Sassoon library.

The area got its name from a black stone statue of King Edward VII (the then Prince of Wales) on a black horse. The KGA has also undertaken the restoration of the Bomanjee Hormusjee Wadia Clock Tower in Fort.

The Grade-3 heritage structure, located at the junction of the Bazaar Gate road and Nariman Perin Street, is being restored at a cost of around Rs65 lakh.

Maneck Davar, KGA chairman, said, “The primary objective of the association is to preserve heritage. History has witnessed the disuse of these iconic structures and we are doing everything possible to restore them.”

Situated at the junction of the Esplanade (present MG Road) and Apollo Bunder (S. Bhagat Singh), the Wellington Fountain is not only being restored but conservators are also trying to understand the hidden inscriptions.

Vikas Dilawari, the conservation architect working on the project, said, “There are eight panels with different inscriptions that we are trying to interpret. The fountain has layers of paint that is being meticulously removed to restore it to its original form.”

Four cheers for the historical structures

Wellington Fountain

The restoration of the fountain is sponsored by Mahindra and Mahindra Limited

It was built in the memory of the Duke of Wellington in 1865

It is a Grade-1 heritage structure

Conservators will also try to decipher inscriptions on the tower

Wadia Clock Tower

Built in 1882 to honour former sheriff and philanthropist Bomanjee Hormusjee Wadia, also an eminent leader from the Parsi community, the tower is a Grade-3 heritage structure with a magnificent façade

Kala Ghoda

The area got its name owing to the presence of a black stone statue of King Edward VII (as the then Prince of Wales) mounted on a black horse

The original artwork can still be found in the Bhau Daji Lad museum

The Kala Ghoda Association (KGA) is going to install a new artwork

Horniman Circle Pyaau

Funded by the KGA, the implementation work has been undertaken by the Urban Design Research Institute (UDRI), a body of town planners

The water fountain, placed on an 18th-century underground well, is in the front of the landmark garden in Fort

READ: Kala Ghoda art walk in Mumbai runs out of steam within a month