Check Out A Slice Of Bengal History At This 180 Year Old Building Overlooking The Hooghly

Many of Kolkata's old and historic buildings are undergoing much-needed restoration work and are being thrown open to the public as they get done. The latest is the 180-year-old Metcalfe Hall on Strand Road. 

The majestic Metcalfe Hall - said to be a replica of Greece’s Temple of Winds - has finally been restored and given a second life as a public exhibition space. You can now visit the 180-year-old building overlooking the Hooghly (located on the crossing of Hare Street and Strand Road) and check out the exhibition, Ami Kolkata: Its History and Culture. It's great to see Kolkata's many heritage buildings finally being restored. Metcalfe Hall has been recently revamped by the Archaeological Society of India (ASI) and the building is something worth gawking at with a 10-feet basement and 30 Corinthian columns and colonnade. It was built as an acknowledgement to Governor General Lord Metcalfe’s contribution to freedom of the press.

Indian Museum has also been allotted a room at Belvedere House to curate an exhibition titled Story of India through Images and Symbols. And Icons of Nationalism: From the Soil of Bengal showcasing the works of Bankim Chandra Chattopadhyay, Rabindranath Tagore, Subhas Chandra Bose and Syama Prasad Mookherjee. 

Not many know that the Hall accommodated the Calcutta Public Library collection - launched by Lord Metcalfe, it was managed by a committee which had Dwarkanath Tagore. 

You must check out the view of the Hooghly from the west gate.