The stretch of Ballard Estate was primitively part of the sea and was salvaged by the soil scraped from the Alexandra Docks. The ancient administrative center for the port of Mumbai, the Ballard Estate was built in 1914 by George Wittet, the architect devolved in constructing the Gateway of India. Today the dockside gatehouse contains a narrow but fascinating museum about the deep-sea history of Mumbai and the architecture of the Ballard Estate, including some remindful photos of B&W colonial Mumbai. Visiting hours for the museum is the First Sunday of each month, audit with the Navy for timings (Lion Gate, Shahid Bhagat Singh Road, Fort) and entry inside the museum is entirely free.
Hidden Exploration of Ballard Bunder Gate:
Ballard Bunder Gate is known for its European architecture and the tour through its tree-lined streets will transport you to the early 20th century, Bombay, to a port city that mounts at the center of a map influence by sea trade and travel, and at the periphery of modern living. From industry and shipping to train and flight travel, migration of families, hotels, and public domains, this walk will climax remarkable, masked connections between Bombay and the world. This place was planned and developed in the early 1900s as Bombay’s prime business district (the first well-planned business district in the metropolitan city), in a homogeneous architectural style. Beyond its architectonics and layout, this community became home to a few of the city’s premier business houses, and public academies, each with alluring histories.
Heritage sites of Ballard Estate:
Ballard Bunder, famous and historical place, from where boat trains used to run during colonial rule, this type of transportation was used to transport the general public, high-grade troops, and cargo’s are all over the Indian Subcontinent. Neville House, another wonderful place, here you get to visit the headquarters of Bombay Dyeing, the biggest textile producer company. Hamilton Studios is the go-to place for everyone to get themselves photographed in the ancient Bombay frame. Zeenat Aman, the famous Indian actress during the 1970’s went to Hamilton Studios to get her marriage portfolio done. The headquarters of Pathe India, another multinational company, which is among the first film production and cinematography companies in the world is situated here.
Hotels available near Ballard Estate:
If planning to transit near the airport- Lalit Mumbai, Oriental Residency, Oriental Aster are premium hotels that BookBySlot provides on an hourly basis and slots with full-day booking options also available. Treebo Annex Executive, Treebo Golden Tulipz, Treebo Aster, Treebo Daisy Residency, Treebo Palace Residency, Treebo Mumbai International, Treebo Olive Inn (Bandra Kurla Complex) are another well-infrastructured budget airport hotels that can be booked on bookbyslot.com when planning to visit Ballard Estate.