Art Deco at Oval

The era after the 1920s in Bombay is known for the advent of Art Deco, which spread across the city and influenced every aspect of city life. Art Deco derived its name from a World Fair held in Paris in 1925, called ‘Exponential Internationale des Arts Decoratifs et Industriels Modernes.’ It was a combination of both traditional and modern styles, introducing new forms of designs in Bombay’s architecture. The Indian Institute of Architects (IIA) played a significant role in expanding the Art Deco movement in India, which held the first architectural exhibition called the ‘Ideal Home Exhibition’ in the Town Hall in November 1937, introducing the audiences to the world of Art Deco. Mumbai became a hub of Art Deco and was finally conferred with the UNESCO World Heritage status for the Art Deco buildings around the Oval Maidan in Churchgate in 2016, cementing the legacy of Bombay’s architecture. However, Art Deco not only impacted the designs of the apartments and buildings of Bombay, but it also inspired interior living spaces introducing new and innovative ideas in making furniture, lighting, bathroom fittings, etc.

Court View, 126 Maharshi Karve Road, Churchgate. Court View was named after the Bombay High Court which is visible across the Oval Maidan. Architects Maneckji Dalal and Merwanji Bana & Co. designed Court View with additional designs by Gajanan Babu Mhatre, who was brought on as consultant at the later stages.

Frozen fountain motif above the entrance porch, Court View. This motif represents eternal life and was made widely popular in the early 20th century by the work of French glass designer Rene Lalique (1860-1945).

Geometric motif on porch railing of compound wall, Court View.

Frozen fountain motif on window grille, Court View. The frozen fountain is a defining feature in Art Deco ornamentation in Mumbai and was introduced by architectural firm Merwanji Bana and Company. Their work is also notable for use of decorative stucco and glasswork on building facades.

Bas relief of tropical imagery (ocean waves) on the balcony at Court View.

Empress Court,132 Maharshi Karve Road, Churchgate. The Mehta family bought the property in 1960 from a Parsi family. Currently, Empress Court serves as the residence of the fourth generation of the Mehta family.

Entrance and lettering, Empress Court. Built in 1933-39, Empress Court was designed by architects Contractor and Kanga with additional designs by Gajanan Babu Mhatre. Most of the residential buildings along Maharshi Karve Marg were designed by Indian developers and architects, rather than British architects.

Detail of window grille, Empress Court.

Tropical imagery motifs of sun, cloud and wave on balcony grille, Empress Court.

Streamlined balconies, Empress Court

Detail of zigzag glass panel running along the central staircase, Empress Court. The tower is symmetrically framed by rounded balconies on either side.

Detail of porch railing on compound wall, Empress Court.

Fairlawn, 128 Maharshi Karve Road, Churchgate. The Art Deco buildings in Mumbai were mostly designed by a small group of Indian and British architects. They had studied architecture in the West and returned to India with accreditation from the Associates of the Royal Institute of British Architects (ARIBA).

Metal cut out Avenida font used in lettering, Fairlawn.

Wave-motif on porch railing of the compound wall, Fairlawn. A remarkable feature about the Art Deco buildings along Maharshi Karve Marg is the uniformity of form and design. For example, the use of porch railings is common in all the buildings, and they all have a low compound wall running along the front of the building.

Frozen fountain motifs used on window grille, Fairlawn.

Curvilinear balconies on both sides of the central stairway, Fairlawn. The balconies have a wavy band running along the bottom edge. This contouring element was typical of the Art Deco period and appears in several buildings along Maharshi Karve Marg, usually used on balconies and above the entrance porch.

Green Fields,134 Maharshi Karve Road, Churchgate.

Streamlined curved balconies on upper floors, Green Fields. Streamlining was used to convey a look of sophistication and futurism in Art Deco buildings.

Zig zag motifs on window grille and porch railing of the compound wall, Green Fields.

Boundary pillar with banding. The pillar is shared between Green Fields (right half) and Queen’s Court (left half).

Ivorine, 154 Maharshi Karve Road, Churchgate. Agustea font used for lettering.

Detail of entrance porch with sunburst beamed canopy and a wave motif band, Ivorine.

Motabhoy Mansion is named after Virendra Motabhoy who purchased this property towards the end of 1943.

Llyod’s Geometric metal cut lettering is used at Motabhoy Mansion.

Motabhoy Mansion, 130 Maharshi Karve Road, Churchgate. Wave-motif grille over entrance.

Frozen fountain motif on porch railing of compound wall, Motabhoy Mansion.

Decorative geometric motifs on balcony, Motabhoy Mansion.

Palm Court, 152 Maharshi Karve Road, Churchgate. Architect Gajanan B. Mhatre.

Chevron motif (inverted V-shaped with strong angular repetitive pattern) and Independent font used in lettering, Palm Court.

Frozen fountain motif on window grille, Palm Court.

Lettering over entrance porch, Queen's Court, 152 Maharshi Karve Road, Churchgate.

Streamlined balconies with banding, Queen’s Court.

Frozen fountain motif on window grille and geometric motifs on porch railing, Queen's Court.

Frozen fountain motif on window grille, Queen's Court

Frozen fountain motif on window grille, Queen's Court.

Rajesh Mansion,140 Maharshi Karve Road, Churchgate. It was built by the architect Gajanan B. Mhatre and was formerly known as 'Sorab Mansion.'

Broadway font made from metal in gold polish, lettering used at Rajesh Mansion. The mansion was formerly known as Sorab Mansion, and designed by architect G. B. Mhatre in collaboration with Contractor Kanga & Co.

The cantilevered ledge located above windows is referred to as eyebrows. Their main purpose is to block direct sunlight and shade the interiors. By using clusters of eyebrows, architects used them to accentuate the rhythmic horizontality of buildings, including at Rajesh Mansion.

Rajjab Mahal, 144 Maharshi Karve Road, Churchgate. The lettering of the building is a variation of the Playbill font, rounded and made in wood.

Rajjab Mahal was designed by Merwanji Bana & Co. The building is named after its owner Dr. Rajjab Ali Patel.

Street level windows animated by diagonal mullions, Rajjab Mahal.

Chevron motif on balcony grille and zigzag wave frieze in azure and green color above the entrance, Rajjab Mahal.

Bas relief panel with abstract geometric sunburst rays further echoed in the design of the window, Rajjab Mahal.

Shiv Shanti Bhuvan, 146 Maharshi Karve Road, Churchgate. Architect: Merwanji Bana & Co.

Geometric sunburst rays on balcony grille, Shiv Shanti Bhuvan.

Chevron motif (inverted V-shaped with strong angular repetitive pattern), Shiv Shanti Bhuvan.

Roman serif variant font used for lettering, Shiv Shanti Bhuvan.

UNESCO plaque at Shiv Shanti Bhuvan, recognizing the building as part of the Victorian Gothic and Art Deco Ensembles of Mumbai in 2018.

Three semicircular eyebrows (a horizontal ledge extending outward above a window) emphasize the faceted corner at the intersection of Maharshi Karve Road and HT Parekh Marg, Shiv Shanti Bhuvan.

Glass panel along the central stairway exhibits a sunburst motif, Shiv Shanti Bhuvan.

Swastik Court, 132 Maharshi Karve Road, Churchgate. Designed by the architectural firm Sykes, Patkar & Divecha. Varjiwandas Motilal Saraiya, the original owner, named the building ‘Swastika’, an auspicious symbol widely revered in several South Asian cultures.

Bas relief panels exhibit tropical fauna, Swastik Court. The three-panel design on the front façade was originally made from colourcrete but had been plastered over during previous interventions. They were revealed during the latest restoration of the building.

Geometric designs on porch railing of compound wall, Swastik Court.

Curvilinear balconies with chevron motif, Swastik Court.

Windsor House, 138 Maharshi Karve Road, Churchgate. It was designed by the architect firm: Gregson, Batley & King.

Windsor House uses a wood-cut font for lettering. The building is named after the House of Windsor, the reigning royal house of the United Kingdom and the Commonwealth realms.

Curvilinear balconies with projecting eyebrows (a horizontal ledge extending outward above a window), Windsor House.

Balustrade along compound wall, Windsor House.

Elevation drawings of Art Deco buildings along Maharshi Karve Road. Seen here are Queen's Court, Green Fields, Swastik Court and Motabhoy Mansion. These were all built in the 1930s decade, during a flurry of building activity on land reclaimed from the Arabian Sea as part of the Back Bay Land Reclamation Scheme, which started in 1928.

Elevation drawings of Palm Court, Oval View and Belvedere Court. The stretch of reclaimed land around Churchgate Station underwent planned development in the 1930s. As a result of strict regulations, Maharshi Karve Marg has a dense concentration of Art Deco buildings, all built in uniform height and use common design idioms.

Victorian Gothic and Art Deco Ensembles of Mumbai were recognized by UNESCO as World Heritage sites in 2018. The Art Deco buildings lie along Maharshi Karve Marg, and they face the Victorian Gothic buildings across the Oval Maidan, which consist of the Public Works Department, Bombay High Court and University Library and Convocation Hall.