This Stunning 140-Year-Old Building Is Home To Every Unsent Letter In Bengal

The ‘Dead Letter Office’ is where all the letters that didn’t make it to their receivers go; and it’s been around since 1876!

Ever wondered what happened to all the letters that ‘got lost in the mail’? Well, for literally decades now, all the letters of the city that didn’t make it to their owners are stored at the Old Telegraph Office, more popularly known as the Dead Letter Office. The building is actually a sorting office for all mail coming in to Bengal. If a letter can’t be sent to someone because of an error in the address, if the recipient has passed away or any other reason, then the letter goes here.

The building was completed in 1876 back when Lord Lytton was the Governor General of British India. And ever since then, all the letters with untraceable address have been going straight into this building!

Located at the corner of Dalhousie Square East and Dalhousie Square South, you can’t miss this architectural beauty thanks to its latest coat of red paint. It’s a 120-feet-tall bell tower {which was possibly supposed to be a clock tower but oddly never housed a clock}. If you’re an architecture freak, you can’t miss the ornate detailing on the building which makes for the most Insta-worthy Kolkata pictures.

If you’re up for a photo-walk along Dalhousie, one of the most photogenic spots in the city, don’t miss out on this place. It must be housing a lot of secrets – how amazing would it if someone could do a project or exhibition on the letters?