Sanjana Mallya

Pride of Mumbai: Marine Drive

Introduction:

Marine Drive is a destination waterfront promenade located in South Mumbai. The stretch is about 4 km long. It is one of the prominent urban images that is associated with the culture of the city. Marine Drive encapsulates the ‘Identity of Mumbai’ which is manifested in its urban form

Marine Drive

It is also known as the Queen's Necklace because, when viewed at night from an elevated point anywhere along the drive, the street lights resemble a string of pearls in a necklace. The stretch is officially named Netaji Subhash Chandra Bose Road. However, the stretch is still popularly known as Marine Drive.

Orientation:

Marine Drive is situated on reclaimed land facing west-south-west. It is a 'C'-shaped six-lane concrete road along the coast of a natural bay. At the northern end of Marine Drive is Giragaon Chowpatty and the adjacent road links Nariman Point at the southern tip to Babulnath and Malabar Hill at the northern tip.

Marine Drive – Oriented Northwards

Source: Author

At the northern end of Marine Drive is Chowpatty Beach. Many restaurants also line this stretch of the road. Further down this road lies Walkeshwar, a wealthy neighbourhood of the city, also home to the Governor of Maharashtra.

History:

Marine Drive was built as part of the British government's Back Bay Reclamation Scheme during the second phase of Mumbai's urban development in the early 20th century. This scheme involved dredging the sea and dumping stone into it, to create land and expand the city westward.

The Bombay Reclamation Map (Marked in Red)

The project was planned for 1500 acres of land but, a faulty plan and other commitments of the government led to the reclamation of just 440 acres of land and out of that, 235 acres were taken for military purposes. The remaining 17 acres of land were left unused, which later became an attraction among locals and tourists, eventually.

Marine Drive is not just a tourist spot. It is also the hub for business and residence. This attracted the new rich people during the 1940s and 1950s. The place was picked by rich people for residence, to stay close to the port and business areas. The place was a glamorous spot for affluent people during Independence.

Architecture:

Some of the most pertinent buildings observed here are the row of Art Deco buildings, the five-star hotel buildings at Nariman Point, Taraporevala Aquarium and Saifee Hospital (which is especially well-lit at night).

List of Art Deco Buildings (along Marine Drive)

Most art deco buildings were erected by wealthy Parsis. The architectural style was popular in the 1920s and 1930s.

Zaver Mahal

Keval Mahal

Kapur Mahal, Zaver Mahal and Keval Mahal were amongst the earliest art deco buildings on Marine Drive, built between 1937 and 1939 for a total cost of 1 million rupees.

Shanti Kutir

Oceana

Sea Green Hotel

Suna Mahal (right) and Sunder Mahal (left)

Krishna Mahal

Sonawala

Al-Sabah Court

From right to left: Al-Jabreya Court, Matruchchaya, Giri Kunj, Bharatiya Bhawan

Gobind Mahal

Meghdoot – this is the very last Art Deco building along Marine Drive

The row of commercial buildings & hotels along Nariman Point.

The Marine Drive Skyline

Saifee Hospital

Many Sports Clubs are also situated along the stretch of Marine Drive, including members-only clubs like the Cricket Club of India, adjoining the Brabourne Stadium, and Garware Club House, adjacent to the famous Wankhede Stadium, as well as others like the Mumbai Police Gymkhana, P. J. Hindu Gymkhana and Islam Gymkhana.

Similar Sites in the City:

Worli Seaface

Worli Seaface is a part of a business district and a major residential area. Just like Marine Drive, it attracts locals and tourists all around the year. The views from this promenade are that of the Bandra-Worli Sea Link. Other significant attractions include the Worli Fort and the Haji Ali Dargah. Other than this, there are several high-end restaurants and shopping outlets present.

Urban History and Development:

An inscription on a lamp post near Girgaum Chowpatty, indicates that the construction of Marine Drive began there, at what was called Kennedy Sea Face, in 1915. It was named after Sir Michael Kavanagh Kennedy, an engineer who was Secretary of the Bombay Public Works Department and a General in the British Army. Unfortunately, he died in 1898, before the reclamation works began.

The lamp post with the inscription

Source: Mumbai Heritage on Twitter

Marine Drive ended up shorter than planned, as less land was reclaimed than expected. By the mid-1930s, most of the infrastructure works were complete, and the pavement and sidewalk were being laid.

The next phase was architectural development, particularly the Art Deco style that was practised all around the world at the time. It was seen as glamorous and modern and was eagerly embraced by the wealthy movie stars and Parsi migrants who went on a building spree along Marine Drive.

The last of Marine Drive's Art Deco buildings came up in the late 1940s and 1950s, towards the northern end of the boulevard. The owners were mostly wealthy Hindu families who migrated from Pakistan during the 1947 Partition of India. Kuwaiti royals also owned a couple of the buildings (the Al-Sabah and Al-Jabreya Court buildings) as holiday homes.

Many of Marine Drive's hotels have interesting histories as well. The Sea Green Hotel was previously a residential apartment building that was occupied by the British army in the Second World War.

The Intercontinental used to be the Natraj Hotel, built on the site of the exclusive, Europeans-only Bombay Club. The Natraj had what was possibly the city's first ice cream parlour, Yankee Doodle.

Hotel Marine Plaza was originally the Bombay International Hotel, where the members-only Studio 29 nightclub revolutionized the city's party scene in the 1980s.

The Trident Hotel was constructed as the Oberoi Sheraton in 1972. This towering hotel was the tallest in India at the time, with 550 rooms and 30 floors, and was the first hotel in the city rival to the landmark Taj Palace Hotel. The Trident and adjoining Oberoi hotel, a newer luxury business hotel that opened in 1986, were attacked by terrorists in 2008.

After Bombay became Mumbai in 1996, numerous roads were also renamed to remove lingering colonial connotations. This included Marine Drive, which is now officially called Netaji Subhash Chandra Marg.

Timelessness – Living History:

Marine Drive is famous for its Neo-Gothic architecture of the 19th century and Art Deco Style architecture of the 20th century. This architectural beauty has gained heritage site recognition for the district. As one walks through the district, they experience the rich history in all its glory.

Religious, Social and Cultural Associations

Parsi Gate:

Built in 1915, Parsi Gate is carved with Zoroastrian motifs and made of Malad Stone with steps in between them to access the beach. It is also called Chota Chowpatty

Congregation at Parsi Gate

Source: Parsi Times

The Zoroastrians have been paying respects to Avan Yazad (Water Deity) here for over a century. The Hindus also use this safe access way to immerse offerings on Poornima and ashes from Chandanwadi Crematorium.

Ganpati Visarjan during Ganesh Chaturthi: (Ganpati Idol Immersion)

Ganpati Visarjan (immersion) at Girgaon Chowpatty

The beach is well known for the celebrations held during the Ganesh Chaturthi (Visarjan/ Idol immersion phase) festival. This marks the end of the festival. Thousands of people from all over Mumbai gather here to immerse the idols in the Arabian Sea.

Sport Associations - Grounds

Beyond the Art Deco buildings, northwards lies a series of sports grounds. These grounds belong to different communities and associations. These are flexibly also used as event spaces when necessary.

Parsi Gymkhana:

In 1885, it was proposed to start a club or gymkhana where Parsee gentlemen of respectable positions in society could obtain some healthy outdoor recreation. Sir Jamsetjee Jejeebhoyy was its Founder President and Jamsetjee Tata was the Chairman.

The gymkhana is one of the founder members of the Bombay Cricket Association and was the first gymkhana to be built on communal lines in Bombay

Parsi Gymkhana

As the gymkhana land belongs to the collector, one of its lease conditions is that the grounds should be accessible by the general public and non-sporting activities such as weddings are allowed to be held at the ground for up to 30 days in the year

Islam Gymkhana

Land for the gymkhana was allotted by the then Governor of Bombay, Lord Harris in 1890. Until 1942, the gymkhana was the headquarters of the Bombay Cricket Association of which it is a founding member. It is the headquarters of the Maharashtra State Billiards Association.

Islam Gymkhana

The gymkhana membership is open to people from all communities and is no longer restricted to Muslims. However, the gymkhana still hosts meetings of Muslim organisations

The gymkhana has been identified as a Heritage Grade IIA structure.

As the gymkhana land belongs to the collector, one of its lease conditions is that the grounds should be accessible by the general public and non-sporting activities such as weddings are allowed to be held at the ground for up to 30 days in the year.

P.J. Hindu Gymkhana

It was originally started as Hindu Cricket Club in 1878. The gymkhana itself was inaugurated by then Governor of Bombay, Lord Harris on 5 May 1894. At that time it was located on Marine Lines, which was the only access as Marine Drive was yet to be reclaimed

PJ Hindu Gymkhana

Until 1942, membership in the gymkhana was restricted to people of the Hindu religion.

During World War II, the government occupied the gymkhana premises as well as that of Parsi Gymkhana, encouraging the adjacent Hindu Gymkhana to offer membership to Muslims and Parsis as an "emergency measure". The Gymkhana has been identified as a Heritage Grade IIA structure

Wilson College Gymkhana

This ground is associated with Wilson College, which is located a few kilometers north of the ground. It is one of the educational institutes in Mumbai that provides sports facilities side by side with education.

During its initial years, two tennis courts situated side by side and a cricket pitch in the centre were prepared. Tennis and Cricket were the two most popular outdoor games at the time. However, a need for a pavilion building was urgently felt and efforts were made in that direction. Sir Shapurji Bharucha played a major role in the process, donating INR 10,000/- to meet the cost of construction.

Wilson College Gymkhana

The new pavilion building was opened by Lord Willingdon, former governor of Bombay, on 20 December 1916. Since then, sporting activities of the college have expanded immensely, with the school producing sportspersons at state, national and even international levels.

Apart from conventional sports, the college delved into less popular sports like Rugby, Water Polo and Yachting. Rugby was introduced in 1970 by former chemistry professor, Dr. James Barton

Police Ground

This is a members-only (Police Only) sports association. A membership form needs to be filled out to be a part of the association. However, it is available to use on rent for playing cricket tournaments.

Wankhede Stadium

The Wankhede Stadium, is an international cricket stadium that was built in 1975. It was built at a time when only Test Matches were played and with the advent of One Day Cricket and Twenty 20 Cricket. It was later decided to redevelop the Wankhede Stadium to suit the modern facilities and comfort of spectators.

The Managing Committee invited presentations from reputed Architects and shortlisted M/s. P.K. Das & Associates and M/s. Shashi Prabhu & Associates to jointly draw up a project for the redevelopment of the Wankhede Stadium. While redeveloping the Stadium, major changes were at the North end and the South end with better facilities for the spectators in terms of bucket seating, a large number of toilets and food courts.

One of the highlights of the stadium is the suspended cantilever roofs. The Teflon fabric roof is lighter in weight and heat resistant. There is no beam support for the roof to ensure that the spectators will have a better view. On the roof, there are exhaust fans which suck the hot air from the stands and allow the breeze from the West to flow in. The stadium has 20 elevators for North and South stands.

The stadium has been host to numerous high-profile cricket matches in the past, most notably the 2011 Cricket World Cup Final, in which India defeated Sri Lanka and became the first country to win the Cricket World Cup on home soil. Additionally, it hosted many matches during the 1996 and 2011 Cricket World Cups.

Past Events and Everyday Life

Spectator at an airshow, Marine Drive, Bombay, 2005.

Camel on Marine Drive, Bombay 1977.

Marine Drive & The Automobile, 1953:

Archival pic from “Our Bombay,” a Dec. 1953 publication by Bombay Municipal Corporation (BMC) in which Prime Minister Nehru wrote: ‘A city, like a house, is not a mere collection of steel and brick, cement and mortar. It is the outward expression of the life of a community’.

Marine Drive with 35 consecutive Art Deco sea-facing buildings was the road to be on. The automobile brought speed, power, streamlined design, mobility and symbolized both success and affluence in a modern aspirational city.

An ad for Shell Motor Oil depicting different car brands

‘In the picture, there is a mix of primarily English and American cars. Convertibles were already falling out of favour, which is confirmed by only one seen at the bottom right, which is likely a Sunbeam Talbot drophead coupe. Since this is the pre 'Fiat Ambassador' days, only foreign cars are observed - majority of which were assembled in India.

Ford had large scale assembly operations in Bombay. General Motors had similar operations in Sewri where Buick (retailed by Metro Motors), and Chevrolet cars (retailed by The Bombay Garage), rolled out. Dodge and Plymouth cars were assembled at Premier Automobiles Kurla facility, and retailed by The Bombay Cycle and Motor Agency which still stands at Sandhurst bridge. Across the road were the stunning modern Deco showrooms of Dadajee Dhackjee & Co, agents for Packard and Mercedes-Benz cars, at Shree Pant Bhuvan. The English were represented by Morris cars, sold by the French Motor Car Co. at New Queen's Road and Hillman Minx cars were assembled by Automobile Products of India (API) at their Bhandup facility. Austin cars were sold by The Automobile Co. Ltd, also at New Queens’ Road. Cars seen in the picture –

1. Sunbeam Talbot Drophead Coupe – 1947-48

2. Hillman Minx (Nos. 2) – 1948-52

3. Hindustan 14 – 1949-54

4. Dodge Custom – 1947-48

5. Vauxhall Velox or Wyvern – 1952-55’

Events of National Importance

65th Republic Day Parade on Marine Drive

Community Activities

An exercise class along the promenade

Mumbai Marathon along the stretch. This is an annual event

Everyday Scenes: Pedestrians use the promenade for leisure walks

Project Funding and Economics:

The funding for the road and promenade was constructed by late philanthropists Bhagojisheth Keer and Pallonji Mistry.

Real estate prices along the promenade are high. Many hotels dot the drive, most prominent among them being the 5-star Oberoi, The Intercontinental, Hotel Marine Plaza, Sea Green Hotel and a few smaller hotels. Marine Drive is the preferred connecting road between the central business district at Nariman Point and the rest of the city.

The boulevard's prime location and the city's shortage of space have driven the price of old Art Deco apartments up to $2 million or more.

Social Amenities: Toilets

In 2018, an eco-friendly public toilet equipped with solar panels and vacuum technology to save water had been set up along Marine Drive. It was built for Rs 90 lakh. The intention to set up the facility was for the general public, including joggers and cyclists, who throng the iconic promenade. The use is free of cost. JSW Group, the social development arm of Samatech company, and the Nariman Point Churchgate Citizens Association came together to set up the facility.

A toilet generally requires eight litres of water for a single flush, but this facility uses only 800 ml water. Besides saving water, the toilet's vacuum technology prevents a few million litres of raw sewage from getting flushed directly into the Marine Drive bay each year.

Colour Palettes:

Marine Drive at Day Time

Marine Drive at Monsoon

Marine Drive at Sunset

Marine Drive at Night

People usually congregate along Marine Drive from sunset onwards.

Prominent Physical Features:

One of the very prominent features on Marine Drive is the line of palm trees along the promenade and the ones along the art deco buildings.

Line of Palm trees along the Art Deco buildings

Line of Palm trees along the promenade

Tetrapod Rocks:

These are large, inverted, funnel-shaped concrete structures. The visitors prefer to sit on the structure to watch the beach or take pictures, during low tides, and favourable climate.

Tetrapod Rocks along the edge of the seawall

These structures are placed here as a source of protection for the coast from strong wave action and erosion. When the waves hit the shore, these concrete structures absorb most of the kinetic energy. It is also used to reinforce coastal structures such as seawalls.

Vantage Points:

View from Malabar Hill

From this point on Malabar Hill, one can see the Girgaon Chowpatty on the forefront, and the Marine Drive stretch along the background.

Art Deco Buildings:

The Art Deco buildings are prominent features along the stretch.

Most of the buildings are residential in occupation.
Cement and Concrete are used in most of the buildings.
The heights of the buildings along the skyline are mostly similar and in alignment with one another.
Simple lighting, in-built lights of the buildings itself
Basic landscape – such as trees and shrubs within the plot, is added
The style of architecture is slightly twisted and named under ‘Bombay Deco’
All the buildings facing the seafront have a similar, horizontal building pattern.

1. Visible Columns

2. Banding

3. Central Staircase

4. Rounded Corners

5. Nautical Features

6. Railings

Architectural Elements of Art Deco Buildings (on Marine Drive) Highlighted

Heritage Status:

UNESCO World Heritage Tag – Newspaper Article

Source: Times of India, May 5, 2018

The Art Deco buildings

In 2018, this stretch of Art Deco buildings received UNESCO World Heritage status, as part of the Victorian Gothic and Art Deco Ensembles of Mumbai.

Conservation & Upkeep:

Although Marine Drive was a faulty project, the promenade built was so sturdy that, it did not require any form of repair or resurfacing for 72 years. In 2012, the re-surfacing project was conducted as a safety process, not out of sheer necessity

Marine Drive – Centenary Anniversary

Mumbai Marathon celebrated the centenary event to mark 100 years since its sea face was constructed and completed in 1920.

100 years of Marine Drive Sea Face

The sea-facing landmark has been part of the marathon for the last 17 years. To pay a fitting tribute to it, Aditya Thackeray, Minister of Tourism, Environment & Protocol, Government of Maharashtra, and other dignitaries held aloft the event trophy, as a symbolic salute to this UNESCO World Heritage site.

Future Development:

1 Coastal Road

The Coastal Road is an under construction 8-lane, 22.2-km long freeway that would run along Mumbai's western coastline connecting Marine Lines in the south to Kandivali in the north. is expected to reduce travel time between South Mumbai and the Western Suburbs from 2 hours to 40 minutes. The estimated cost of the project is ₹12,000 crore (US$1.7 billion). Its first phase is a 9.98 km section from Princess Street flyover to the Worli end of the Bandra-Worli Sea Link.

Artists’ rendition of the completed project

2 Proposal for a Storm water drain at Girgaum Chowpatty to be turned into a viewing deck offering tourist & locals panoramic view of Marine Drive.

Executed Project

3 Preservation of Parsi Gate:

An artist’s impression of Parsi Gate at Marine Drive after the Mumbai Coastal Road Project is completed.Source: TOI The BrihanMumbai Corporation has recently relocated the century-old Parsi Gate at Marine Drive to make way for the coastal road project. After the completion of the project, the pillars of the iconic Parsi gate shall be relocated 75 m northwest of the original location.

Historical Images: