Renovation hope for two landmark Kolkata buildings

KOLKATA: The heritage committee of Kolkata Municipal Corporation has given the nod to Life Insurance Corporation of India to repair and paint the sprawling Queens Mansion, a grade I heritage structure located at the intersection of Park Street and Russell Street. LIC had applied for the permission to undertake the periodic upkeep of the century-old building that it owns.

“Wild growth, including trees that have taken root in the crevices and joints will be uprooted, cracks will be repaired, plumbing will be overhauled and the building will receive a fresh coat of paint,” said a KMC official.

The matter came up for discussion at the mayor-in-council meeting on Wednesday and got the civic body’s approval. The KMC heritage committee, however, has asked the LIC authorities to exercise caution while undertaking the repair work, making it compatible with the building’s heritage character. Same caution should be exercised while painting, it was pointed out to LIC.

“This century-old grade-I heritage building was built with lime and mortar. We have asked the owner of the building to select materials carefully so that the repair and painting process don’t flout heritage rules,” a civic official said. Once that is done, LIC that owns several heritage mansions in the city, including the Metropolitan building at Esplanade and a series of buildings, in which LIC offices are housed on Central Avenue, will take up the renovation work of Esplanade Mansion opposite the Raj Bhavan east gate.

The Queens Mansion on Park Street was built by Armenian Johannes Carapiet Galstaun in 1920. Born in Iran in 1859, he migrated to Kolkata at a very young age and later became a real estate tycoon and horse racing enthusiast.

The Esplanade Mansion was built by Jewish businessman David Elias Ezra in 1910. Previously, the site was Scott Thompson’s shop and two houses. Now, it houses offices owned by Eastern Railway, Life Insurance Corporation and other government offices.

GM Kapur, the Kolkata convenor of Indian National Trust for Art & Cultural Heritage (INTACH), said, “Some of the huge buildings that LIC owns are of varying architectural styles and also among the well-maintained ones. The Esplanade Mansion is the only instance of Art Nouveau style. I only wish they could restore the Bourne & Shephard building on SN Banerjee Road. There are conservation architects willing to take up the work if LIC allows its adaptive reuse post restoration.” He added that KMC should also do up its own buildings like Futnani Chambers and Roxy Cinema.

Heritage enthusiast Rangan Chakravarty said, “Kolkata has lost many beautiful buildings of note. If the existing ones are well maintained, they add to the splendour of the city. I wish these buildings had cafes and other places that would make them more vibrant.”

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