Built in 1936 by owner Phiroz Karai and positioned at the Oval directly opposite the majestic Victorian Gothic Bombay High Court, Russi Court was aptly renamed ‘Court View’. Consulting ‘shadow architect’ G B Mhatre created Bombay’s most striking frozen fountain. Writing in the 1937 Journal of the Indian Institute of Architects, he expressed his unhappiness at the assignment stating “the head room for the staircase is very little this being due to the mistake in the original layout of the plan. This gave me a lot of trouble in designing as the owner approached me when the piles were actually driven-in and the super-structure commenced.” Such was the brilliance of Mhatre’s design that he went on to create an interior view of the fountain designed to bring natural light to Mumbai’s richest and absolutely stunning Deco stairwell. Pic 1. From the Modern House in India by ACC Pic 2. Frozen Fountain Pic 3 & 4. Interior stairwell. Plot no. 102, Queen’s Road. Architects: Merwanji Bana & Co. with consulting architect G.B. Mhatre A.R.I.B.A. (Lon.)

Built in 1936 by owner Phiroz Karai and positioned at the Oval directly opposite the majestic Victorian Gothic Bombay High Court, Russi Court was aptly renamed ‘Court View’. Consulting ‘shadow architect’ G B Mhatre created Bombay’s most striking frozen fountain. Writing in the 1937 Journal of the Indian Institute of Architects, he expressed his unhappiness at the assignment stating “the head room for the staircase is very little this being due to the mistake in the original layout of the plan. This gave me a lot of trouble in designing as the owner approached me when the piles were actually driven-in and the super-structure commenced.” Such was the brilliance of Mhatre’s design that he went on to create an interior view of the fountain designed to bring natural light to Mumbai’s richest and absolutely stunning Deco stairwell. Pic 1. From the Modern House in India by ACC Pic 2. Frozen Fountain Pic 3 & 4. Interior stairwell. Plot no. 102, Queen’s Road. Architects: Merwanji Bana & Co. with consulting architect G.B. Mhatre A.R.I.B.A. (Lon.)

Built in 1936 by owner Phiroz Karai and positioned at the Oval directly opposite the majestic Victorian Gothic Bombay High Court, Russi Court was aptly renamed ‘Court View’. Consulting ‘shadow architect’ G B Mhatre created Bombay’s most striking frozen fountain. Writing in the 1937 Journal of the Indian Institute of Architects, he expressed his unhappiness at the assignment stating “the head room for the staircase is very little this being due to the mistake in the original layout of the plan. This gave me a lot of trouble in designing as the owner approached me when the piles were actually driven-in and the super-structure commenced.” Such was the brilliance of Mhatre’s design that he went on to create an interior view of the fountain designed to bring natural light to Mumbai’s richest and absolutely stunning Deco stairwell. Pic 1. From the Modern House in India by ACC Pic 2. Frozen Fountain Pic 3 & 4. Interior stairwell. Plot no. 102, Queen’s Road. Architects: Merwanji Bana & Co. with consulting architect G.B. Mhatre A.R.I.B.A. (Lon.)

Built in 1936 by owner Phiroz Karai and positioned at the Oval directly opposite the majestic Victorian Gothic Bombay High Court, Russi Court was aptly renamed ‘Court View’. Consulting ‘shadow architect’ G B Mhatre created Bombay’s most striking frozen fountain. Writing in the 1937 Journal of the Indian Institute of Architects, he expressed his unhappiness at the assignment stating “the head room for the staircase is very little this being due to the mistake in the original layout of the plan. This gave me a lot of trouble in designing as the owner approached me when the piles were actually driven-in and the super-structure commenced.” Such was the brilliance of Mhatre’s design that he went on to create an interior view of the fountain designed to bring natural light to Mumbai’s richest and absolutely stunning Deco stairwell. Pic 1. From the Modern House in India by ACC Pic 2. Frozen Fountain Pic 3 & 4. Interior stairwell. Plot no. 102, Queen’s Road. Architects: Merwanji Bana & Co. with consulting architect G.B. Mhatre A.R.I.B.A. (Lon.)

Shireen Mansion, Tardeo. One story explaining this motif, perched below the lettering of Shireen Mansion, is told by octogenarian Gool Mistry. Her parents were early tenants in the 1938-erected building. Their landlord Burjorji Bhesania's trade involved transporting grass bales between Bombay's seven islands in boats - so the nautical image. The theme was part of the prevailing Art Deco trend as well. Pre-independence Bombay architects toyed with non-colonial design. Ships, trains and planes, symbolising travel, speed and the surge to hit horizons beyond the Arabian Sea, embellished new exteriors. Source: ‘Once Upon a City’ by Meher Marfatia

Shireen Mansion, Tardeo. One story explaining this motif, perched below the lettering of Shireen Mansion, is told by octogenarian Gool Mistry. Her parents were early tenants in the 1938-erected building. Their landlord Burjorji Bhesania's trade involved transporting grass bales between Bombay's seven islands in boats - so the nautical image. The theme was part of the prevailing Art Deco trend as well. Pre-independence Bombay architects toyed with non-colonial design. Ships, trains and planes, symbolising travel, speed and the surge to hit horizons beyond the Arabian Sea, embellished new exteriors. Source: ‘Once Upon a City’ by Meher Marfatia