The Unique
Heritage Building:
The Unique Heritage Building
The University Library and Rajabai Clock Tower above it, is unique among the building
which enhance the beauty of the first city in India. Rising to a height of 280 feet it
catches the eyes of visitors as one of the most attractive architectural features of
Mumbai. The ground floor has 2 side rooms, each measuring 56 feet x 27.5 feet and
a staircase vestibule 28 feet square. The Rajabai Tower forms a carriage porch 26
square feet in front of the building. The Tower, over the carriage porch, has a square
form up to the gallery at the top of the first stage which is at a height of 68 feet from
the ground The form changes from a square to an octagon and the height from this
gallery to the top of the tower is 118 feet and the third stage to the top of the final is
94 feet, thus making a total height of 280 feet.
Above the first gallery in niches cut in the pillars at the corners of the octagon are carved stone figures representing different races and costumes of Western India and higher still are figures representing the communities of Bombay State including the Parsi, Memon, Gujarati, Maratha and Kathiawari communities. It is said that during the construction of the building which took nearly 10 years, not a single accident occurred despite the hazardous heights.
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