Chennai architecture is a confluence of many architectural styles. From ancient Dravidian temples built by the Pallavas to the Indo- Saracenic style (pioneered in Madras) of the colonial erato20th century steel and chrome of skyscrapers. Chennai has a colonial core in the port area, surrounded by progressively newer areas as one travels away from the port, punctuated with old temples, churches and mosques.
The colonial legacy of Chennai is apparent in the vicinity of the Chennai port. South of the port is Fort St George. The stretch between the Fort and the port is occupied mostly by the High Court buildings and several clubs, some of which have existed from the British era. A little south of the Fort, across the Cooum River is the Chepauk cricket stadium, another British staple, dating from 1916. North and west of the port is Georgetown, where dockyard workers and other manual labourers used to live. Georgetown is now a bustling commercial centre, but its architecture is significantly different from areas closer to the Fort, with narrower roads and tightly packed buildings.
Some residential areas like Tiruvallikeni (Triplicane) and Mylapore have several houses dating from the early 20th century, especially those far removed from arterial roads. Many of them were built in the traditional Tamil style, with four wings surrounding a square courtyard, and tiled sloping roofs. In sharp contrast, the apartment buildings along the larger roads in the same areas were built in 1990 or later. In the city, one can notice the British influences in the form of old Cathedrals and the mix of Hindu, Islamic and Gothic revival styles resulting in the Indo-Saracenic style of architecture.
Many historic buildings are still fully functional and host government, business or educational establishments. Built in 1639, Fort St George, houses the Tamil Nadu Legislative Assembly and Secretariat. Tipu Sultan's cannons decorate the ramparts of the Fort's museum. The Fort has the country's tallest flagstaff at a height of 150 feet.
The Presidency College was built in 1840, the Royapuram Station dates from 1856, the Chennai Central Station dates from 1873, the High Court was completed in 1892, the Ripon Building (which houses Chennai Corporation and the mayoral offices) dates from 1913, and the Southern Railway Headquarters was built in 1922. Many of the colonial era buildings are designed in the Indo-Saracenic style.
The Madras High Court (the largest judicial building in the world after the Courts of London), the Government Museum, the Senate House of the Madras University and the College of Engineering, Guindy are some of the examples of Indo-Saracenic style of architecture.
Adjoining the Governor's residence (Raj Bhavan) at Guindy, there are five mandapams or memorials dedicated to Mahatma Gandhi, the first Indian Governor General - C Rajagopalachari, former Chief Ministers of the state - Kamaraj and Bhaktavatsalam and one to Martyrs in general.
The Valluvar Kottam is an auditorium in memory of the poet-saint Thiruvalluvar. All 1330 verses of the poet's epic - the Thirukkural, are inscribed on the granite pillars that surround the auditorium. There is a 101-feet high temple chariot structure with a life-size image of the poet in it. The base of the chariot shows in bas-relief the 133 chapters of the Thirukkural.
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Chennai city is arranged in a grid pattern running north-south and east-west. Roads and
