The name Kala Ghoda is a reference to the presence of a black stone statue of King Edward VII (as the then Prince of Wales) mounted on a horse that was built by Jewish businessman and philanthropist Albert Abdullah David Sassoon, although this statue was removed from the precinct in 1965 and subsequently placed inside the Byculla Zoo. A local legend stated that the statues of King Edward and the one of Shivaji on a horse at the Gateway of India came to life after midnight and battled it out on the streets.[3] In 2017, the 'Kala Ghoda' returned to the area with a new statue of a similar looking horse without a rider, being commissioned by the Kala Ghoda Association. The statue, titled 'Spirit of Kala Ghoda' was designed by architect Alfaz Miller and sculpted by Shreehari Bhosle.[4][5]
Prior to the founding of the Bombay Stock Exchange, merchants often traded shares at the junction of Rampart row and Meadow street.[6]
Landmarks
The Esplanade Mansion, India's oldest surviving cast iron building,[7] is in Kala Ghoda. Formerly known as Watson's Hotel, it was the site where films were introduced to India with a screening of the Lumiere BrothersCinematograph in 1896. The offices of art publication, Marg, are on the third floor of the historic Army and Navy Building.[8]
.jpg)
