The Town Hall of Calcutta: A Celebration of its Restoration

The Town Hall: A Celebration of its restoration. Aloke Kumar. Town Hall was erected by the Europeans as a venue to host their various social gatherings. The building became dilapidated and started falling. Practical conservation of heritage buildings in Kolkata started in the 1990s and the first restoration project was the Town Hall, a public building built by the British in 1813. A team of conservationists, architects and structural engineers worked during 1996‐1998 to restore the hall. The author outlines the methodology including surveying and documentation of the existing structure; examining old materials and methods of construction, earlier repairs and the suitability of matching new materials for restoration.