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Currency Building, a 178-year-old architecture in Italian Renaissance style at the eastern side of Dalhousie Square in Kolkata, handed over to the Archaeological Survey of India (ASI) in 2002.
The brick-built three-storey building was constructed in 1833 for housing Agra Bank, which later merged with Masterman's Bank, London. In the wake of Great Depression – a major economic crisis in the Western world that started in 1830 – the bank shut its operations in June 1866 and the building was sold to the then British Government. The British government's currency department was shifted to the building in 1868.
The ornamental entrance gate of the building is made of wrought iron, facing Laldighi, the big pond at the square. The central hall, which had three large domes decorated with tinted glass, allowed sunlight to stream in. The domes were brought down by the CPWD.
The central hall used to have rows of exchange counters for notes, gold, silver and small change. The working reserve of silver used to be kept in a vault.
The vault had 6-inch-thick iron doors . The high-ceiling spacious rooms have floors of Italian marbles. The sprawling exterior of the building is embellished with an array of Romanesque windows.
After Independence, the majestic architecture was adorned with the Asoka Chakra and housed the office of the Accountant-General.
Ironically, due to apathy of the authorities concerned, the building lost its former appeal, was virtually abandoned and fell into disrepair for years. A few years ago, the CPWD decided to demolish the structure to make way for a sky-scraper.
Strong protests from heritage lovers, however, forced the CPWD to stall the move and it was subsequently declared as Monument of National Importance by the Government of India.
The ASI started renovating the building two years ago to restore it to its former glory as a grand piece of architecture. The superintendent of ASI, Kolkata, revealed that some more time is needed to finish the restoration work.
(Text and picture by A. Roy Chowdhury)
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