Roads..China Bazaar

 

NSC Bose Road Aka China Bazaar road. 1850s

After Fort St. George was built in 1640, a new township for the servants of the inmates of the fort, known as the Black Town, came up outside the fort to the northern side. 

In 1773, the English erected 13 pillars along the flattened area of the Black Town, banning all construction activities between the pillars and the fort as it might block the view of possible invaders. 

Soon a new Black Town was formed beyond these pillars, with the old Black Town giving way to the Madras High Court. A thoroughfare was formed along the stretch between the pillars and the high court, which eventually became known as China Bazaar Road. 

Till the 19th century, the road was occupied by a large number of tiled houses.

 In 1787, Thomas Parry, a Welsh businessman, bought the land with a garden house lying across the High Court buildings at the junction of NSC Bose Road and Rajaji Salai and developed it as a commercial complex housing the offices of Parry and Lane. The junction eventually became known as Parry's Corner.

In 1850, Pachaiyappa's Hall, another landmark on the road, was built and named after the philanthropist Pachaiyappa Mudaliar. 

The road was one of the major junctions in the city when tram transportation began in 1895.

 The road also housed the Kothawal Chavadi market to where vegetables from various places around the city were brought. The market was considered the largest in Asia. 

The road is also considered the origin of the jewellery market in the city. The road housed several gold and diamond merchants. The Madras Jewellers & Diamond Merchants' Association, which was established in 1938, was initially headquartered at China Bazaar Road. 

The office of the Consulate General of the United States was located on this road from 1908 till the 1950s 

The "China Bazaar" name likely stemmed from the businesses and people of Chinese origin who settled in the area, including a traditional family of dentists from China who migrated during World War I. 

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