Mumbai's Victorian Gothic and Art Deco buildings enter Unesco Heritage list

The decision was made at the ongoing 42nd session of the UN Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation's World Heritage Committee

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Having become a global trading centre, the city of Mumbai implemented an ambitious urban planning project in the second half of the 19th century. The famed Victorian Gothic and Art Deco ensembles of south Mumbai have been named as the latest entrants to the coveted World Heritage Sites list, said an announcement by Unesco on Saturday.

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The urban planning project led to the construction of ensembles of public buildings bordering the Oval Maidan open space, first in the Victorian Neo-Gothic style and then, in the early 20th century, in the Art Deco idiom.The decision came at the ongoing 42nd session of the UN Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation's World Heritage Committee, currently underway in Bahrain till July 4.

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The Maharashtra government had first submitted its formal nomination proposal for the Unesco honour in 2012 for the 'Victorian Gothic and Art Deco Ensemble of Mumbai' but it was edged out by other major Indian landmarks.

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The Victorian ensemble includes Indian elements suited to the climate, including balconies and verandas.The Victorian and Art Deco ensembles of Mumbai will become the city’s third World Heritage site. The other two are Chhatrapati Shivaji Terminus railway station, which was included in 1987, and the Elephanta Caves (2004).

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The Art Deco edifices, with their cinemas and residential buildings, blend Indian design with Art Deco imagery, creating a unique style that has been described as Indo-Deco. The Victorian Gothic and Art Deco ensembles bear testimony to the phases of modernisation that Mumbai has undergone in the course of the 19th and 20th centuries.