Palace to Palace: Swarna Marge envisions a continuous 2.5 km heritage corridor connecting Bangalore Palace and Tipu Sultan’s Summer Palace, tracing a remarkable journey through the many layers of Bengaluru’s history. Along its route, the corridor links landmarks associated with the city’s royal, colonial, administrative, educational, commercial, and civic past, revealing how successive eras of governance have shaped the city’s physical and cultural landscape.
More than a heritage walk, Swarna Marge is conceived as a carefully designed public realm. A coherent system of pedestrian pathways, landscape elements, seating, lighting, wayfinding, and interpretive signage transforms existing streets into a comfortable and engaging walking experience. The design prioritizes accessibility, safety, and continuity, allowing visitors and residents to move seamlessly between destinations while discovering the stories embedded within the city.
By connecting isolated monuments into a single, legible route, the corridor creates a stronger understanding of Bengaluru as a living historical landscape rather than a collection of disconnected heritage sites. Such heritage corridors enhance the city’s legibility, encourage walking as a means of experiencing urban history, and strengthen the relationship between people and place. They also activate public spaces, support local businesses and cultural tourism, and provide citizens with meaningful everyday environments that celebrate Bengaluru’s identity while improving the quality of urban life.
Project
Palace to Palace
Year
2016
What We Did
Research and Documentation, Masterplanning
Status
Pitch Project
Bangalore Palace built in 1878 and was bought by Maharaja Chamarajendra Wadiyar in 1884
Mount Carmel College started in 1948 driven by a mission to empower women through higher education
Niton House, colonial bungalow served as a residence for Sir William Ramsey who invented Radon (also called Niton). He was invited by Jamshedji Tata to advise in the setting up of Tata Insitute (Indian Institute of Science)
The mansion was built in 1915 for Sir Ismail Sait, then passed into the hands of the Mysore Royal Family and then to mining baron Raja Manikyavelu Mudaliar. It was acquired by the government in the 1960’s, and now hosts the National Gallery of Modern Art.
Balabrooie House, built around 1850 as the official residence of the Commissioners of Mysore and remained so till the country’s independence. It served as the residence for Dewans of the Mysore state, the first three Chief Ministers of Karnataka. Many known personalities Mahatama Gandhi, Nehru and Tagore have also stayed in this building during their trips to Bangalore. The name “Balabrooie” translates to “River Bank Farm” and comes from the birthplace of its original builder, Sir Mark Cubbon.
The Pump House of the low level reservoir built in 1898 to bring water from Hesaraghatta Reservoir to the city
Built between 1840 and 1842 by Sir Mark Cubbon, the Raj Bhavan in Bengaluru originally served as a private residence before becoming the official “Bangalore Residency” for British Commissioners. Today it is the official residence of the governor.
Built in the 1880s, this heritage building was the residence of Carlton, an English auctioneer, and an officer to Sir Mirza Ismail, Dewan of Mysore. It was also the headquarter of Bangalore University and presently houses the Criminal Investigation Department headquarters.
Karnataka State Public Service Commission which was constituted in 1921 as the central recruitment body for the government. Then called Central Recruitment Board and later Public Service Commission, this office was briefly located out of the Balabroorie, Attara Kachary and finally relocated to the present building in 1968.
Established in 1938 by the Maharaja of Mysore Nalvadi Krishnaraja Wadiyar in memory of his mother Vani Vilasa Sannidhana Kempananjammanniyavaru, Maharani is one of oldest educational institutions in the city dedicated to education of women.
These grounds were the Central Jail of the city which was established in 1867. During the Indian Independence, many Indian freedom fighters were also held captive here and hence in 2009, it was renamed and opened to the public as Freedom Park.
Central College Bengaluru (1858) is one of the oldest colleges in India. This college was originally affiliated to University of Mysore in Mysore State. Rev. John Garrett was the founder and first principal of the Central High School, which was afterwards renamed Central College.
The property originally housed the Bangalore Lunatic Asylum which was founded in 1847. Later in 1913, this became the first branch and main headquarters of the State Bank of Mysore, which has now been merged with the State Bank of India. This is one of the landmark junctions of the city and is still popularly referred to as the Mysore Bank Circle.
The Rice Memorial Church, built in 1917, is located in the busy Avenue Road, Bangalore Pete. It is named after Rev. Benjamin Holt Rice, a missionary of the London Missionary Society (LMS), a Canarese scholar and a pioneer of education in the Bangalore Pete region. The church stands on the site of the London Mission Canarese Chapel built by Rev. Rice, which itself was built on the site of the first Canarese chapel built by William Campbell in 1834. The church is a stone building in the European Classical style, with Tuscan columns, pediments and keystone arch windows.
The Sri Ranganathaswamy Temple in the Chikkapete area of the Bangalore Pete is an ancient 16th-century Hindu shrine dedicated to Lord Ranganathaswamy. Built by the Kempegowda chieftains in the Vijayanagara architectural style, it features intricately carved granite pillars. The temple also contains a historically significant Telugu language donatory inscription in the Kannada script
Legend says that when Kempegowda 1 founded Bengaluru in 1537 AD, the festivities started by ploughing the land with four pairs of decorated white oxen in four directions, at the focal point of the junction of Doddapete and Chikkapete. This established the extent of the city.
The 1990s market building retains surviving sections of the historic Stuart Hogg Market.
The Delhi Gate, of the Bangalore Kote, is the only remaining portion of the erstwhile fort of Bangalore
Kote Venkataramana Temple is a Hindu temple in Krishnarajendra Road, Bangalore, India dedicated to the Hindu god Venkateshwara. The temple was built in 1689 in Dravidian and Vijayanagara style by King Chikka Devaraja Wodeyar, then ruler of Mysore.
Hyder Ali commenced its construction within the walls of the Bangalore Fort in 1781, and it was completed during the reign of Tipu Sultan 10 years later in 1791.[1] After Tipu Sultan died in the Fourth Anglo-Mysore War, the British Administration used the palace for its secretariat before moving to Attara Kacheri in 1868.
The Fort High School built in 1907 by Maharaja Krishna Raja Wadiyar. in the plot next to Tipu Sultan’s Palace, it was a Vernacular English School.
Built over 800 years ago by the Vahni Kula Kshatriya (Thigala) community, the Dharmaraya Swamy Temple in the Nagarathpet area of Bengaluru is a rare shrine dedicated to the Pandavas and Goddess Draupadi. It serves as the primary temple in the Bangalore Karaga
Located in the heart of Chickpet (on Old Taluk Cacheri Road), the century-old Mohan Building was built in 1909 by Hajee Ismail Sait. Originally named Ahmed Building, it served as a residence until 1945. It has also housed a lodge, and a court over the years, now housing some commercial and retail establishments.
Founded by Krishnaraja Wodeyar in 1901, the hospital was set up to help with the plague outbreak in the city. The Victoria Hospital is built in the Gothic style – the complex of stone buildings retains the original wards built on the pavilion system, while the main building has sloping iron-crested towers.
Minto Eye Hospital. The foundation stone for this building was laid by His Highness the Maharaja of Mysore on the 17th December 1910.
The current premises of the St Luke’s Church was built in 1935. Earlier this church used to be known as Fort Church and was located in the Fort Area of Bangalore. When that Church fell , the Mysore Government allotted a new place. The newer building contains some remains from the initial Fort Church.
