The building in this pic is the erstwhile Spencer's(now Spencer Plaza). Spencer's was started in 1864 and went on to become one of the biggest department stores in Asia at the time. The original building which housed Spencer & Co. was burnt down in a fire in 1983 and the present structure houses one of the largest shopping malls in India, Spencer Plaza.
The historical roots of Spencer Plaza go back to the British Govt, when in the year 1863-1864, the first Departmental store in the Indian subcontinent was established by Charles Durant and J W Spencer. The building was designed by W N Pogson. Between 1897, when Spencer & Co became a public limited company with 403 shareholders, a capital of Rs 25 lakh and Eugene Oakshott as Chairman, and 1932, when his nephew John Oakshott Robinson died, after having served as Chairman from 1913, the story of Spencer's was one of all-India growth.
In the year 1983, the original building was destroyed in a fire. The blaze destroyed the interior of the main showroom - and the Spencer`s story was to all intents and purposes over. Discussions with conservation architects might have saved the building, but it was decided not to do anything till the future of the firm was clear. Demolition of Spencer`s heritage building began in 1988 and Mangal Tirth began developing Phase-I of Spencer Plaza. The new building opened for occupation in 1991. And two more phases have since been completed.
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