Where Gandhi, Tagore once spoke: Chennai’s Victoria Public Hall reopens as museum & performance venue

After extensive conservation under Singara Chennai 2.0 initiative, the colonial-era landmark revives its role as a civic space.

Mahatma Gandhi and Rabindranath Tagore were among those who gave speeches at the 19th century Victoria Public Hall in Chennai | Courtesy: Greater Chennai Corporation

Chennai: Once a bustling meeting space for the city’s inhabitants, the 19th century Victoria Public Hall spent much of the last few decades neglected. The 137-year-old hall, after prolonged conservation work, was reopened on 23 December as a museum and performance venue.

Located near the Greater Chennai Corporation building, the hall will be opened to the public from 26 December.

GCC officials said the restoration, which began in May 2023 at a cost of Rs 32.62 crore under the Tamil Nadu government’s Singara Chennai 2.0 initiative, represents the most extensive intervention in the building’s history, going beyond earlier cosmetic repairs to address fundamental structural issues.

Origins and architectural significance

According to historians, the Victoria Public Hall was built when residents sought a dedicated public venue modelled on town halls in British cities. Conceived as a commemorative project for Queen Victoria’s Golden Jubilee, it was designed by Robert Fellowes Chisholm and constructed by Namberumal Chetty.

“It was in the year 1882, it was planned as a common forum for the city and it was in 1883, a foundation stone was laid by Vijayanagara empire. Later, the construction was completed in 1889. The hall served as a great place for theatre, movies and even during the freedom fight. People like Mahatma Gandhi, Rabindranath Tagore have addressed this hall,” historian V Sriram said.

Built in the Indo-Saracenic architectural style, the structure blends European civic planning with Indian design elements. Spread across two floors, it measures roughly 48 metres by 24 metres, with the main roof rising nearly 19 metres and a central tower extending to about 34 metres.

Over the decades, the building evolved beyond its commemorative imperial origins to become a platform for public life in Chennai. It hosted theatre productions, social reform meetings and landmark political gatherings.

Among its most enduring political association dates to 20 November 1916, when the South Indian Liberal Federation—the outfit that championed social reforms and later came to be known as the Justice Party—was founded within its walls.

Decline, and earlier restoration attempts

By the mid-20th century, newer venues had begun to replace Victoria Public Hall, and maintaining such a large structure proved increasingly difficult, according to a senior Greater Chennai Corporation official.

“Renovation efforts were attempted at various points. In 1967, the hall was reopened for public use after repairs, and again in the early 1990s when parts of the building and the Trevelyan Fountain on its grounds were restored. These interventions, however, proved insufficient to address deeper structural issues,” the official said.

A major restoration attempt was made in 2009, when Chief Minister M.K. Stalin was mayor of the Greater Chennai Corporation. Under the Jawaharlal Nehru National Urban Renewal Mission, the Chennai Corporation sanctioned renovation work at a cost of Rs 3.96 crore.

The latest project, launched under Singara Chennai 2.0—an urban development and civic infrastructure improvement programme by Chief Minister Stalin—represents a comprehensive overhaul.

“Unlike earlier renovation attempts, the current project goes beyond cosmetic repair. A central focus has been seismic retrofitting and structural strengthening, aimed at making the building safe for public gatherings in a city. Extensive roof restoration, repair of deteriorated masonry, and conservation of original wooden elements were undertaken alongside upgrades to electrical, fire-safety and other building services,” a senior GCC official in charge of the Victoria Hall said.

The 137-year-old hall was reopened after prolonged conservation work | Courtesy: GCC

The renovated building’s ground floor has been converted into a museum with administrative offices, allowing visitors to engage with the hall’s layered political, cultural and architectural history. The first floor has been reconfigured as a performance venue, equipped with upgraded lighting, acoustics and balcony seating.

The forecourt has been landscaped and redesigned as a heritage experience zone. Officials say it will feature replicas of historical modes of transport associated with Chennai, including cycle rickshaws and trams.

“The significance of the renovation lies not only in restoring a colonial-era building but in reviving a rare form of civic infrastructure. Unlike administrative buildings that later became government offices, Victoria Public Hall was designed as a space for public assembly and debate. Its reopening as a museum-and-performance venue seeks to revive that civic function in a city where public cultural spaces are increasingly limited or privately controlled,” the official in charge of the hall said.

Those wishing to visit the museum or book the hall can use the GCC’s website.

Political analyst N. Sathiyamoorthy said the restoration also carries political and cultural weight.

“By formally acknowledging the hall’s association with the founding of the Justice Party and embedding that history within curated museum displays, the project attempts to institutionalise the building’s role in Tamil Nadu’s socio-political history. In doing so, it moves heritage interpretation beyond architecture to include ideological and political memory,” he said.