Anna Nagar Tower Park, Public park in Anna Nagar, Chennai, India
Anna Nagar Tower Park, officially Dr Visvesvaraya Tower Park, is a 15-acre park in Anna Nagar, Chennai, centred on a 133 ft (41 m) twelve-storey watch tower built in 1968. The tower is white concrete with a central vertical wall and a spiral ramp winding up around the core, edged with vertical metal railings and orange-brown bands at each level, ending at a wide circular platform. The park also holds a lake, an amphitheatre, a bird-watching deck, badminton courts, a children's play area and a skating rink.
The 133 ft (41 m) tower was built for the Indian International Trade and Industries Fair in 1968, designed by Yahya Merchant. V. V. Giri, then Vice-President of India, inaugurated it on 21 January 1968 in the presence of Chief Minister C. N. Annadurai. The park was renovated in 2010 for ₹62 million, and the tower, closed since 2011, reopened on 21 March 2023 after safety upgrades.
The park is named after engineer and administrator M. Visvesvaraya, and the tower was inaugurated on 21 January 1968 by Vice-President V. V. Giri with Chief Minister C. N. Annadurai present. The Tamil source records that silambam, karate, yoga and parkour are practised in the park, and that after the December 2015 floods the lake filled with large fish, birds and turtles and became a local gathering spot.
The park has two entrances: the main one on 3rd Main Road beside the Tower Club, and a second opposite the Ayyappan Temple on 6th Main Road. On weekdays it opens 5.30–10.30 am and 4.30–7 pm. The tower's spiral ramp leads to the top; grills, fencing, new lights and anti-skid tiles were added in 2018.
Following severe flooding in 2015, the park's lake transformed into a thriving ecosystem with fish, birds, and turtles inhabiting the water. Today this unexpected recovery allows visitors to observe wildlife and birdwatching in the heart of the city.
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