The Art Deco Style Flourishes in Bombay

Colonial Bombay (now Mumbai) sees a wave of buildings constructed in a maritime variation of the Art Deco style. Notable among these are the Eros and Regal cinemas, the New India Assurance Building, and various office and residential buildings in the South Bombay areas of Malabar Hill, Marine Drive, Fort and Colaba. The Art Deco style has already gained popularity in the USA as a distinctly modern style, with contemporary examples including the Chrysler Building and the Empire State Building in New York.

Constructed at the tail end of a major land reclamation project at Marine Drive, Bombay’s Art Deco structures must have the appearance of height without becoming actual skyscrapers, which would put too much load on the newly reclaimed land. Characteristic features include tiers, heavily rounded corners, bold typefaces and mid- to high-relief friezes and sculptures with imagery characteristic of Bombay: tropical, coastal and even Zoroastrian motifs, the latter being a nod to the city’s Parsi community.