| Watson's Hotel | |
|---|---|
 Façade of Watson's hotel, now known as the Esplanade Mansion | |
  Location within Mumbai | |
| General information | |
| Location | Mahatma Gandhi Road, Fort, Mumbai, India |
| Coordinates | 18°55′42″N 72°49′52″E / 18.9283°N 72.8311°E |
| Construction started | 1867 |
| Completed | 1869 |
| Client | John Watson |
| Technical details | |
| Structural system | Cast iron |
| Design and construction | |
| Architect(s) | Rowland Mason Ordish |
| Engineer | Rowland Mason Ordish |
| Criteria | Cultural: (ii) (iv) |
| Designated | 2018 (43rd session) |
| Part of | Victorian Gothic and Art Deco Ensembles of Mumbai |
| Reference no. | 1480 |
Watson's Hotel (actually Watson's Esplanade Hotel), now known as the Esplanade Mansion, located in the Kala Ghoda area of Mumbai (Bombay), is India's oldest surviving cast iron building.[1] It is probably the oldest surviving multi-level fully cast-iron framed building in the world, being three years earlier than the Menier Chocolate Factory in Noisiel, France, which are both amongst the few ever built. Named after its original owner, John Watson, the cast and wrought iron structure of the building was prefabricated in England, and it was constructed between 1867 and 1869.
The hotel was leased on 26 August 1867 for the terms of 999 years at yearly rent of Rupees 92 and 12 annas to Abdul Haq. It was closed in the 1960s and was later subdivided and partitioned into smaller cubicles that were let out on rent as homes and offices. Neglect of the building has resulted in decay and, despite its listing as a Grade II–A heritage structure, the building is now in a dilapidated state. A documentary film about the building was made in 2019 called The Watson's Hotel.
- ^ Choudhury, Chitrangada (24 June 2005). "Now listed as 'endangered', Watson's Hotel was once toast of Bombay". Indian Express. Express Group. Archived from the original on 12 June 2013. Retrieved 29 December 2008.