HSBC Building - North Beach Road

HSBC -- Hongkong and Shanghai Banking Corporation -- tried selling this landmark building on North Beach Road in 2003, but did not find any buyers. It was hoping to get about Rs 9 crore for this Edwardian style building with plastered white walls, in total contrast to most other landmark buildings on the same road.
"Madras: The Architectural Heritage", an INTACH Guide, says this this building was constructed in 1923 on the site earlier occupied by the offices of The Mail, one of the earliest Indian newspapers, and which was an eveninger when it folded down.
Unlike this heritage building, HSBC was more successful with another property it owned -- a residential bungalow in the upmarket Boat Club area, which fetched the bank Rs 42 crore in an electronic auction conducted late last year.
The four-storey building has approximately 41,000 sq.ft. of built-up space on a 15,400 sq ft plot. HSBC wanted to move its operations to a larger buiding in a single location. A lot of back office work was being done out of this building and the bank found that the building no longer served its purpose and hence the move to sell it. The building's interiors have undergone a lot of changes although the exterior remains largely unchanged.
These pictures again were taken early on a Sunday morning and hence the absence of any vehicles.

Parry's

With these pictures I hope to run a series of photographs or short pieces on Parry's -- that area just beyond Central railway station going right up to First Line Beach or North Beach Road or Rajaji Salai, as it known now.
This picture of a plaque that marks the boundary of the Esplanade is outside the Dare House -- headquarters of the Murugappa Group, to which belongs E.I.D. Parry, from where that old part of Madras got its name. The plaque refers to the Esplanade, by which name not too many people in Madras now refer to that area. The plaque is at the corner of Moore Street (or Dr Syedna Mohammed Burhanuddin Saheb Street, as it has been renamed) and NSC Bose Road.
Parry's thrives with life and still remains a place where you can get anything you want, although there are many other places in Madras now where you can get whatever you want. But, shopping in Parry's is still fun for those prepared to brave the crowds, the jostling and the lack of parking space. A number of stately buildings still remain in this area, some in good condition and many others in a state of permanent disrepair. Some fine buildings and landmarks have completely disappeared.
The Murugappa group has moved all its offices (after selling TIAM House, a short distance away on First Line Beach) to Dare House -- named after one of the partners of Parry & Co. Dare House, according to Madras Discovered by S. Muthiah, was built in the late 1930s and occupied in 1940. This rather modern day building stands at the corner of NSC Bose Road and First Line Beach, with entry and exit points on Moore Street also. This picture of Dare House was taken on a Sunday, which probably explains why there aren't too many vehicles or people to be seen.