DURING their archival research to restore the interiors of Town Hall, conservation architects were disappointed to learn that there was only a single photo taken of the Central Library when it was constructed in 1833. “Just one picture of the interiors of this iconic structure, and that picture also wasn’t from a useful angle. It was the damaged furniture in this hall, the chairs in the next room library, the collapsing ceiling and the leftover details on these Corinthian capital pillars.(that helped design the original look of the Central Library),” said a senior restorer. One year of restoration work and Rs 3 crore later, the restoration work is now complete, and a refurbished 184-year-old Central Library was inaugurated by Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis Sunday. Watch What Else Is making News The structure will now be open to the public and will also be the location of the annual tea party that the CM hosts at the Town Hall. Envisioned originally as the pride of colonial civic planning, the Town Hall has history tucked into each corner. It was here that Queen Victoria’s proclamation liquidating the East India Company’s administration of India in 1858 was read. The neo-classical Town Hall was designed by Colonel Thomas Cowper of Bombay Engineers and completed by his colleague Charles Waddington in 1833 at a cost exceeding Rs 6 lakh. A grand staircase leads visitors to the renewed room, which is no longer lit by sunlight seeping through its ceiling. The room now has nine chandeliers with 98 “day light coloured” bulbs illuminating it. Efforts have been made to keep the look authentic inside the Central Library — from the heritage approved fans mounted on the pillars, to the sight of the odourless fresh paint, from the brand new arched roof to the pigeon nets lined across the ceiling to stop birds from lounging anywhere. “We tried to do everything that we could to make it resemble like the original set-up, including the lamps. The lamps had yellow light, hence we got similar lamps. There were no chandeliers then but since there was low light coming from the central bay we installed chandeliers that resembled the same era. We initially thought there could be candles but decided to use bulbs,” said an architect. The tables, desks, the wall-mounted fans, even the cupboards with lion carvings were all custom-made for the ‘new’ Town Hall. “Everything but the wooden Burma teak floors (is new). It made no sense to replace them. Since the floor is uneven, we are levelling the chairs with stoppers so that they don’t wobble,” said a restorer. Filled with massive depressions and wood crumpling, the arched ceiling, believed to be the most cumbersome section of the Central Library, was revised. “In Neo-classical structures, there are false ceilings and no one had seen the extent of the damage done to them until we checked for the leakages in 2009. Everything had to be replaced. There is still light that comes through but it is limited,” an architect pointed out. Officials said traditional methods were applied by the restorers. “We used gud, guggad and methi,” said a restorer, adding that lime plaster comprising horse hair, sand and some fibrous items was used as adhesive to restore the place. “Restoration of such a historical structure has its own challenges. The roof of the building was giving away and required urgent repairs. The Asiatic Library is a historically important building in Mumbai, especially in terms of the steps of the building and the Central Library. Everyone has fond memories of the place,” said a senior official at the PWD. The Central Library and the Town Hall are maintained by the Government of Maharashtra and the PWD. Work on the Town Hall was split into two parts. While the first phase included work on the roof and other structural changes, the second phase, which commenced in January 2016, was to restore interiors of the Central Library. Conservation architect Abha Lambah and her team were appointed by the state for the job. The city’s most precious manuscripts and valuable books are housed in this building. The annual stock-taking report of 2014 says many of the 10,519 books that were physically checked were found severely damaged due to dust and rainwater. “Now, to ensure it is maintained well, we have drawn up a maintenance manual for the Town Hall, so that there are proper checks carried and there is proper accountability so its condition is not affected severely,” said a senior state government official. After inaugurating the newly renovated Town Hall, Fadnavis said, “I appeal to everyone to take some time out and visit the library, which has a rare collection.”
