Bomanjee Hormarjee Wadia Clock Tower – Mumbai

What was once Bombay Fort, got its name from Fort George, the defensive fort built by the British.
Bombay Fort had three large gates. The most famous was Church Gate, located almost exactly on the
spot where the Flora Fountain now stands. Apollo Gate was at Apollo Bunder, Colaba. The third was
the Bazar Gate, right opposite the present dome of the General Post Office (GPO). Bazar Gate lends its
name to the area even now, long after the gate itself has disappeared.
In the 1850s, the Great Indian Peninsular Railway built its railway terminus around the Bazaar Gate,
and the station came to be known as Bori Bunder Terminus (from the Marathi words ‘bori’ (a sack)
and ‘bunder’ (a port). The area around the station was used as a storehouse for goods imported and
exported from the city and acted as an active market place.
In the 1860s, these gates were demolished to get larger expanses of land. The Bazar Gate tower clock
was built in the late 19th century on Bazar Gate Street, which is today called Perin Nariman Street.
Pancham Puriwala, the famous poori-bhaji cafe, near the GPO, was set up around 1848. It is said that
before 1857, there was a pond called Gibbet’s pond- locally known as Fasi Talao. Legend has it that
large crowds would gather to witness executions and afterwards they would drop in to eat poori-bhaji.