General Post Office, Chennai, Head post office in Chennai, India
The General Post Office in Chennai is a three-story building, 352 ft long and 162 ft wide, with 125-ft twin towers on Rajaji Salai at Parry's Corner. Designed by Robert Chisholm in Indo-Saracenic style, it has a high-ceilinged central hall; the towers' Kerala-style caps were removed by a mid-20th-century storm.
Architect Robert Chisholm designed this building in 1874, and construction was completed in 1884. It became an important postal facility during the British colonial period and continues to serve the city today.
The building's first floor held the offices and the second floor housed the Presidency Postmaster's residence, so the head of the post lived above the mail he managed. The site was once occupied by the Abercrombie Battery, and the land was first meant to be split between the Bank of Madras and the Post Office before the Chamber of Commerce pushed for a single larger building.
The building sits at Rajaji Salai and is easy to reach by public transport or local transport. Visitors should come in the morning or early evening when the facility is less crowded.
The twin towers once carried roof caps influenced by Kerala architecture, favoured by architect Robert Chisholm from his work in Travancore. A storm in the mid-20th century removed these crowns, so the towers now end flat. The building cost ₹680,000 against an estimate of ₹692,000, much of it raised by the Madras Chamber of Commerce.
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