SHESHADRI IYER MEMORIAL HALL

STATE CENTRAL LIBRARY

Cubbon Park Road Near Ambedkar Veedhi
GROUP 5

AISHWARYA P - BHOOMIKA R - TEJASWINI JH - PUNARVA - HARI PRIYA V - UZMA MEHWISH- PUNEETHA.K

MS204226 - MS204225 - MS204228- MS204219- MS2042

SHESHADRI IYER MEMORIAL HALL
• This 115-year-old building is a memorial to Devan Sheshadri, the maker of modern Bangalore who was the
longest-serving Devan of the Mysore state.
• This ceremonious hall was built in 1908 to remember and recognize his immense contributions towards making
Bangalore a remarkable place to live.
• The architect of this building was Richard Sankey, the chief engineer of Mysore.
• The library has about 38,700 active members. Spread on two floors, it has 1.63 lakh books and 115 periodicals,
ranging from fiction to non-fiction to works in Kannada, Tamil and Telugu, and competitive exam guides.

Architectural analysis
• The Hall is built largely with brick and lime mortar.
• The library quietude around the curved wooden bookshelves, the lament light from two levels of
windows high above you and the soaring ceiling give the central hall a warm, hushed atmosphere.
• The building’s eclectic mix of architectural elements reflects both the time and the gentlemen behind
its construction.
• The railings on both levels have urn-shaped balusters like those found in many colonial buildings.
• The building overlooks a rose garden, and the entrance has two porticoes.
• A sound of silence descends on the building as you enter the central hall, which is breathtaking for its
high ceiling in light yellow tones and barrel-vaulted roof.
• Sturdy and long dome-shaped lamps hang from the ceilings, lending a stately look to the library.
• The brackets on the lower tier of this arcade are reminiscent of brackets in Hindu temples. In the upper tier, the semi-circular arches are
Victorian Romanesque, with prominent keystones. The uppermost floor has rectangular windows topped with floral pediments.
• Granite is used to great effect both in the pillars of the twin front porches and in the side windows; the pillar capitals are more Indian than
Greek Corinthian.
• This library has received Raja Rammohan Roy Foundation Award for the best state central library in India in recognition of its outstanding
contribution to meritorious services rendered in the spread of knowledge and gearing up of library movement in the city of Bangalore and
in the state of Karnataka in general.
• From about 1908, even before the building was completed, some rooms in the Hall were rented out to a Bangalore Club.
• One large room housed a billiards table and there were tennis courts adjacent to the Hall. In 1909, some rooms were given over to an
educational museum. In 1914, the Public Library finally moved in here too. This crowded state of affairs continued till 1920 when the
Bangalore Club finally vacated the Hall and the Public Library occupied the whole building.
• Restoration architect Pankaj Modi speaks with warmth about the building and says, “There are many heartening things about the Seshadri
Memorial Hall. It has a classic location, a semi-circular hall that breaks away from the monotony of squarish public buildings. It has lots
of natural light, a capacious verandah and distinctive Greco-Roman features. It has a sense of space and a character that instantly takes
you back in time.”
HANK YOU