One of India’s most iconic structures — the Chhatra-pati Shivaji Terminus — will complete 125 years of existence this month. To commemorate this occasion, Central Railway, in coordination with the postal departments of Ma-harashtra and Goa circle, is going to release a special cover on Monday. The CR had once before released a special stamp and postal cover in 1988 when the structure celebrated 100 years of existence.
In the lead up to the anniversary, the Central Railway in mid-April during ‘Railway Week’ marked the event extravagantly. A number of events and activities, including an exhibition were lined up; the CST was also illuminated with thematic LED lights on April 16.
“Designed by Frederick William Stevens with influences from Victorian Italian gothic revival architecture and traditional Mughal buildings, the station was built in 1888 to commemorate Queen Victoria’s 50th birthday. The ‘C’ shaped building is planned symmetrically about the east-west axis. Built on 80 acres, the name of this station was changed from Victoria Terminus to Chhatrapati Shivaji Terminus (CST) in March 1996. This building was also included in Unesco’s World Heritage Site list in 2004,” said A.K. Jain, senior PRO, CR.
Since December last year, the CR has opened the heritage building for public viewing that has received good response. Now, visitors are allowed to view the heritage gallery (near the cash office), the Star Chamber, the grand staircase lounge on the second floor of the building and the forecourt. This is also the second-most photographed building after the Taj Mahal.