MUMBAI/NEW DELHI: The UNESCO on Saturday awarded the World Heritage tag to two building clusters in 20th century Art Deco and 19th century Victorian Gothic architectural styles from Mumbai’s Fort area. India will now rename the cluster as the Victorian Gothic and Art Deco Ensembles of Mumbai, as recommended by the World Heritage Committee at Manama in Bahrain. The cluster is the city’s third World Heritage Site after the Elephanta Caves and the Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj Terminus.
With the UNESCO’s World Heritage Committee’s decision, Maharashtra has now become the state with the maximum number of world heritage sites in India. The caves at Ajanta and Ellora are already on the World Heritage List making Mumbai the second city after Ahmedabad to be inscribed on the World Heritage List. India now ranks second to China in terms of the highest number of heritage properties in the Asia and Pacific region. Globally, it ranks sixth in the world.
The buildings in Fort and Marine Drive heritage precincts were among 30 landmarks being considered for the UNESCO ‘World Heritage’ tag.
The Mumbai ensemble, consisting of 94 buildings, represents the most remarkable collection of Victorian and Art Deco buildings in the world. The Victorian buildings form part of the larger fort precinct situated to the east of Oval Maidan. These buildings include the Old Secretariat, University Library and Convention Hall, the Bombay High Court, Watson’s Hotel, David Sasoon Library and Elphinstone College, among others.