Thursday, August 4, 2011

Red and white, Madras

The Majestic light house in the Marina beach is as much a landmark as the beach itself... I have always wanted to go up the lighthouse, but not done that yet....

The red and white tower is visible for as far as the eye can see and so is the light it shines out.... Quite a sight late at night...




Trivia[courtesy Wikipedia] : 
It was built by the East Coast Constructions and Industries in 1976 replacing the old lighthouse in the northern direction. The lighthouse was opened in January 1977.
The present lighthouse is the fourth lighthouse of Chennai. The first lighthouse started functioning in 1796 when the terrace of the Officers Mess (the present day's Fort Museum at Fort St. George) was chosen as the site for the first warning beacon which used a large lantern. It functioned till 1841. The second light house was erected during 1838-1844 on the north side of Fort St George and it was functioning until 1894. The third lighthouse was functioning from the tallest dome of the Madras High Court. It started functioning on June 1, 1894, with argand lamps and reflectors manufactured by Chance Bros, Birmingham which had originally been installed in the 160-ft-tall lighthouse tower. This was later decommissioned after the present one was constructed on the Marina beach near Santhome which was unveiled in January 1977.


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