Gateway of India

A basalt arch on Mumbai's waterfront, built to commemorate a British royal visit.

It was built to remember the arrival of King George V and Queen Mary at Apollo Bunder on 2 December 1911, the first visit to India by a British monarch. The royal couple only saw a cardboard model, because building did not begin until 1915. For a long time it has been among the first structures that visitors arriving in Mumbai by sea could see.

Building the Gateway

Governor Sir George Sydenham Clarke laid the foundation stone on 31 March 1913, and the final design by the architect George Wittet was approved in August 1914. Before this, Apollo Bunder was a fishing ground. From 1915 to 1919 workers reclaimed land for the site and built a sea wall. The foundations were done in 1920 and the monument was finished in 1924. Viceroy Rufus Isaacs opened it to the public on 4 December 1924.

Style and shape

The style is Indo-Saracenic, with many details taken from the Gujarati regional style of the 16th century. The building is yellow basalt and concrete, with a central arch that is higher and wider and has an extra storey above with four turrets. Its front recalls the fronts of Gujarati mosques, such as the 1424 Jama Mosque in Ahmedabad.

A gate for leaving and for gathering

The Gateway served as a ceremonial entrance for important government people. On 28 February 1948, a year after independence, the last British troops to leave India, the First Battalion of the Somerset Light Infantry, passed through it with a 21-gun salute. Today there are five jetties, two used for commercial ferries. Since 2003 the Jewish community has lit a menorah here for Hanukkah. Access was limited after the 2008 attacks.

On the globe

The model shows the basalt arch on the Mumbai waterfront with its smaller side arches.