Central Telegram Office of Mumbai

Central Telegraph Office, Mumbai

Flora Fountain, Mumbai

Flora Fountain, Mumbai

Common Man installation in Fort

Central Telegraph Office, Mumbai

Central Telegraph Office, Mumbai

Central Telegraph Office, Mumbai

Beautiful Architecture of the building

Beautiful Architecture of the building

Beautiful Architecture of the building

Beautiful Architecture of the building

Beautiful Architecture of the building

Beautiful Architecture of the building

Beautiful Architecture of the building

Beautiful Architecture of the building

Beautiful Architecture of the building

Beautiful Architecture of the building

British era lift is still used by the office

British era lift is still used by the office

Employees of the telegraph office

Mr. G.T. Desai joined the telegram office in 1975. It has been 41 years of his service and now he works as Senior Telegraph Master. Almost close to his retirement, his love for his work can be felt when he talks about the time he has spent in the office. An expert in Morse code, his work also included intercepting message from weather department, ships on the coast, updates from press, army etc. He believes that the telegram is still important as it is considered to be the official document, and is sad about the office getting closed on the 15th of July

Mr. G.T. Desai joined the telegram office in 1975. It has been 41 years of his service and now he works as Senior Telegraph Master. Almost close to his retirement, his love for his work can be felt when he talks about the time he has spent in the office. An expert in Morse code, his work also included intercepting message from weather department, ships on the coast, updates from press, army etc. He believes that the telegram is still important as it is considered to be the official document, and is sad about the office getting closed on the 15th of July

City codes

Dispatch room.

Office files

Morse code telegram system on display

Morse code telegram system on display

Articles in the news paper on display

Dispatch room.

It can be said that the history of Indian telecom started with the introduction of telegram in India. The first experimental electric-telegraph line was wired between Calcutta and Diamond Harbour in 1850. Then in 1851, the telegraph department became a small part of Public Works Department as its use was opened up for the British East India Company. Then started the construction of 6,400Km of telegraph lines connecting Kolkata, Peshawar, Mumbai, Chennai, Ootacamund and Bangalore. William O’Shaughnessy, who mastered the telegram and telephone in India, belonged to the Public Works Department, and worked towards the development of telecom throughout this period. A separate department was formed in 1854 when telegram facilities were opened for the public.

A picturesque 19^th Century building in Mumbai, which is now known as Central Telegram Office, came into existence in 1872. After serving the country and its people for almost 140 years, the telegram office and its service worldwide have been shut down permanently on the 15^th July 2013.

The beautifully crafted neo-gothic building of Central Telegram Office was erected from the designs of 2 master architects – J. Trubshawe and W. Paris. The construction of the building was commenced on 11^th of April 1869 by the Government of India and was completed on 1^st of December 1872. The total cost of the making of this marvelous structure was approximately 6 Lac Rupees at that time. It was Bombay’s General Post Office (G.P.O.) until 1913, when it officially became the Central telegram Office and the G.P.O. was transferred to the existing structure near Victoria Terminus. In recent years, the momentous building underwent a successful restoration to bring it to its former glory. The Central Telegraph Office is located on Veer Nariman Road by the Flora Fountain circle in the Fort, Mumbai.

I got the chance to capture the nostalgia of the place in the month of July 2013, a week before closing of the place. For a detailed design resource on the Central telegram office of Mumbai, please visit my official work on D’source by clicking the link here.