290x233mm. View from the E. end of the N. side of Dalhousie Square looking along the length of the S. facade of the Bengal Secretariat. Originally constructed in 1780 to accommodate junior East India Company servants on their arrival in India, the building was probably designed by Thomas Lyon and presented a long, plain stuccoed facade to Tank Square. In later years the apartments were used by private individuals and commercials firms, and in 1878-82 the buildings were entirely reconstructed to become the Bengal Secretariat. The richly decorated facade seen here is built from brick, with an arcade running the length of the ground floor. On the floors above the facade consists of deep verandahs with arched openings resting on pillars in semi-Venetian style. Three pavilions with mansard roofs project from the building, the central one containing a
hexastyle Corinthian portico and pediment. The roadway in front of the building is a mass of overhead wires, with electric trams (introduced in 1902) at the terminus in the foreground, (Massey p.52).