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Jul 19, 2020 5 tweets 4 min read Read on X
Marble Arch, Cumbala Hill, 1940’s. Architect: Gajanan B. Mhatre, A.R.I.B.A. Despite the limitations of the apartment template, some architects like Claude Batley and G B Mhatre were creative and unique in their apartment designs, especially in the way their buildings were sited, ImageImageImageImage
proportioned and detailed. Mhatre’s later buildings, Marble Arch on Pedder Road was outstanding when built in the 1940s and remains so today. It is especially interesting in its site placement and entry way. Marble Arch is curved so that both sides are seen as you approach it
from Pedder Road. The building is not set back from the road uniformly. The logic of its orientation becomes clearer when you see that Marble Arch was part of a group of buildings set around an open space. The buildings, KumKum, Ark Royal and Windcliff, also designed by Mhatre,
were part of the ensemble. Marble Arch was modern in the layout of its rooms and their proportions and details. The building is best seen as part of a group of buildings also designed by Mhatre. Though the buildings differ from each other in their plan arrangements, they are
visually connected by the continuity of the compound walls and similarity of some elements in the facades. Kamu Iyer in #Boombay 2014. #KamuIyer #GBMhatre #Apartment #DesignAesthetics #sensibility #artdeco @winterapples #RadhaRajadhyaksha @bombayologist

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More from @artdecomumbai

Nov 7, 2022
Anandashram, Matunga

The Dadar-Matunga Street Scheme, which was notified in 1899, contemplated laying out plots systematically on the land to the north of the Island City, which were primarily rice fields. (1/9)
The space that was laid out in grids, with a complete network of roads and easy accessibility to the tramway and railway stations, was demarcated as "residential". (2/9)
The scheme, which originally ensured private plots for bungalows and villas with their own gardens, had to be reworked as an increasing number of people migrated to the suburbs, creating a housing scarcity. (3/9)
Read 9 tweets
Mar 18, 2021
#72YearsOfLibertyCinema Inaugurated on 21 March, 1949. The Liberty Cinema, now a Grade-II Heritage Site and also known as “the showplace of the nation” was designed to be both “local and global, modern and traditional’’. M A Ridley-Abbott was appointed the architect (1/7)
Unfortunately, soon after the completion of the first floor, he died in a plane crash while travelling to England on holiday. J B Fernandes completed the construction work.
(2/7)
W. M. Namjoshi, an interior and furniture designer, created the distinctive décor of the theatre’s exterior and interior with the help of Habib Hoosein. One striking details of the cinema's exterior is the theatre’s name spelled out in neon and a streamlined piano keyboard (3/7)
Read 7 tweets
Mar 15, 2021
#72YearsOfLibertyCinema Celebrating the inauguration of the iconic Liberty Cinema.

The Art Deco gem was built by Habib Hoosein, who was trained in the cotton trade but whose real passion was film. He famously named it “Liberty” in honour of India’s independence (1/8) ImageImageImage
Moving away from Hollywood, it showed only Hindi films. "That a house of this kind should declare itself exclusive for Indian films is a matter of pride and pleasure to the industry." - Motion Picture Magazine, April 1949 (2/8) ImageImageImage
Hoosein’s son, Nazir, who was seven years old at the time, was present at the cinema’s inauguration and ceremoniously cut the ribbon. Habib Hoosein insisted the first screening be for the workers who had built the Liberty, and their families (3/8) ImageImageImage
Read 8 tweets
Feb 19, 2021
Mr. Shiavax Cawasji Cambata, a prominent businessman and owner of Eros Cinema, spared no expense in the making of this magnificent theatre (1/5)
After 5 years of careful thought and planning with experts from all parts of the world, Cambata successfully built an ultra-modern enterprise that stood higher than anything that was attempted in the Entertainment world of this country and many European cities (2/5)
The chairs of the theatre were designed after Mr. Cambata personally examined chairs of all types in Europe and America. The air conditioners were manufactured by Clarage Fan Company of Kalamazoo, Michigan, U.S.A (3/5)
Read 5 tweets
Feb 17, 2021
Eros cinema was designed with exquisite interiors to compliment its grand exterior.
The cinema theatre, claimed to be the most up-to date cinema of its time, was designed to produce the best possible acoustic properties (1/6) ImageImageImage
The perforated rubber cinema screen was the largest of its kind in India. The stage, measuring 46 feet by 26 feet was one of the largest in existence, and had an orchestra space to accommodate about 50 musicians (2/6) ImageImageImage
One of the highlights was the fire-proof safety curtain weighing two and a half tons, driven by motors – the only one of its kind in the whole of the East. The cinemas interior was surrounded with life-sized plaster reliefs, which were specially made by an Italian artist (3/6) ImageImageImage
Read 6 tweets
Sep 21, 2020
Ram-Nam, Marine Lines on Cinema Road, behind Metro cinema, the popular Art Deco picture palace in Dhobi Talao. #MeherMarfatia talks about its construction that obstructed the sea view. Resident of nearby Jehangir mansion, Pesi Khansaheb, paid Rs 4 extra a month - Rs 72
instead of Rs 68 for 4th floor sea views. Ram-Na m is a majestic streamlined street corner building with reeded spandrels and a cylindrical turret at the roof. Tanya George @tanyatypes says, "The lettering for the building name uses bold, geometric shapes. The stencil-like effect
created due to the lack of counter spaces creates a striking design. The letterforms are also quite similar to Milton Glaser’s famous Baby Teeth typeface seen in one of his most famous works, the Dylan poster. I wonder how much the design was influenced by the typeface
Read 4 tweets

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