Mumbai Guide: 5 things you didn’t know about Rajabai Tower

How well do you know your city? We bring you 5 lesser-known facts about the iconic Rajabai Tower

1) The sculptures (on the surface of the clock structure) and interiors (of the adjoining library) were made by Indian artisans and the students of JJ School of Art under the guidance of Sir Lockwood Kipling, their art teacher and illustrator.

The Rajabai Tower (Photo: Anshuman Poyrekar/Hindustan Times)

The exteriors of Rajabai Tower (Photo: Kunal Patil/Hindustan Times)

2) Carvings on the ceiling and arches include flora and fauna native to the Indian subcontinent.

The carving on Rajabai Tower (Photo: Kunal Patil/Hindustan Times)

3) The construction of the Rajabai Tower was financed by a Mumbai-based cotton businessman, Premchand Roychand.

Restoration work in progress (Photo: Vijayanand Gupta/HT)

4) The tower is 196 ft high and is the tallest structure in the vicinity (Fort area) apart from the Bombay Stock Exchange building. In the early 1900s, one could view the suburbs of erstwhile Bombay from the top, including the different ports and bays by the sea — Lion Gate, Ballard Bunder, Green Gate and Red Gate.

The exteriors (Photo: Kunal Patil/Hindustan Times)

5) Two cast iron doorstoppers, both in the shape of a lion, still exist and are used to stop the reading hall doors from moving due to the strong winds.

The iron doorstoppers (Photo: Kunal Patil/HT)

Information by Homiar Goipolia, vice president, projects, at Somaya & Kalappa - an architectural consultation firm. He has worked on the restoration of the 137-year-old Rajabai Clock Tower.