Downtown Kollam

Downtown Kollam is the primary central business district in the city of Kollam, Kerala, India. Located entirely within the former municipality of old Quilon, it is approximately bounded by Chinnakada to the east, Thangassery to the West, Cutchery to the north, and Mundakkal to the South. The area is popularly known for its business activities. Kollam was formerly an international emporium of trade and today remains a prosperous commercial centre.^[1]

The downtown area of Kollam has a long business history. Marco Polo, the Venetian traveller, who was in Chinese service under Kubla Khan in 1275, visited Kollam and other towns on the west coast, in his capacity as a Chinese mandarin.^[2] He pointed out that Old Kollam was the only town on the west coast of India with multi-story buildings, some of which still stand today. He found Christians and Jews living in Coilum (Kollam) as well as merchants from China and Arabia. Polo left a detailed account of Kollam in his writings, extracts of which are reproduced in the Travancore State Manual. Many clothing, vegetables, stationery, pharmaceuticals, and spice wholesale-retail dealers do business in the downtown area of this old industrial city and there are many hotels in the downtown area. The proximity to Kollam Port makes this area one of the biggest business centres in India. It also contains the buildings of the Kollam Municipal Corporation.