Tag Archives: disused

A fine facade in the heart of Ahmedabad

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ALTHOUGH WE HAVE visited Ahmedabad (in Gujarat) at least 4 times, we had never been to the hectically busy Manek Chowk area in daylight, which is why we had never noticed a fine building until today, when we went to the area in the morning. After dark, the area is so busy that one needs to be wary of the numerous autorickshaws and motorised two-wheelers whizzing around to notice the architecture of the buildings overlooking the frenetic bazaar.

 

The building we noticed this morning (1 December 2025) has a facade with some neo-classical detailing and jharokhas (projecting windows). Overall, this edifice, which is far more elegant than its neighbours,  has a European appearance. Above its main entrance, you can see the following words (in English): “The Ahmedabad Share and Stock Brokers Association”.

 

According to a website (https://www.knocksense.com/ahmedabad/exploring-the-history-of-ahmedabad-stock-exchange-a-symbol-of-entrepreneurship-since-1894), until 1996 :

“… Ahmedabad Stock Exchange functioned in a building constructed in 1919 when the Bombay Share and Stock Brokers association collaborated with the Ahmedabad Share and Stock Brokers association. And that heritage style building served as ASE’s home before it was shifted to Kamdhenu complex in 1996.”

The Kamdhenu Complex is in the outskirts of Ahmedabad.

 

Following the establishment of the Bombay Stock Exchange in 1875, the Ahmedabad Stock Exchange (‘ASE’) was set up in 1894. At that time and until well after Independence,  Gujarat was part of the former Bombay Presidency. According to an article in Wikipedia, at first:

“… stock exchange functioned under the framework of the Bombay Securities Contracts Act, 1925. Following the passage of The Securities Contract Regulations Act, 1956 the Gujarat Share & Stock Exchange, Indian Share and General Exchange Association and Bombay Share and Stock Exchange, Share and Stock Brokers Association merged with the Ahmedabad Share and Stock Brokers Association and gave rise to ASE.”

 

The ASE was India’s second oldest stock exchange, the oldest being in Bombay. As already noted, the ASE functioned in the elegant, now disused edifice we saw at Manek Chowk today.

The silent screen

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HOBSON STREET IN the heart of Cambridge is one way and is used by traffic avoiding the pedestrianised section of Sidney Street. Hobson Street is lined with buildings of various ages. One of these, which has always attracted me, is a disused cinema whose facade has Art Deco features.

Built in about 1930 to replace an earlier cinema constructed in 1921, it was The Central Cinema. Its white tiled facade has Egyptian and Art Deco details.

In 1972, the cinema closed and was converted, as many other old cinemas have been, into a bingo hall. This establishment thrived until 2009 when the British government banned smoking in public places. Apart from three days when the building was occupied by squatters for 3 days, the old cinema has been boarded up and disused.

Various plans have been proposed for its future use, but none of them have been carried out. One of the problems is that because it is a protected edifice, any future plans have to preserve its original features. And as most of the new ideas for the old cinema involve adding windows, and adding them would infringe the protection order, all of the new plans have had to be abandoned. The protection order has saved the building but hindered its future development.