Spencer Plaza

The original Spencer Plaza – Madras (Chennai) – 1863

Spencer Plaza was built in 1863–1864, established by Charles Durant and J. W. Spencer in Anna Salai, then known as Mount Road, in the Madras Presidency. The property originally belonged to Spencer & Co Ltd. 

Spencer & Co opened the first department store in the Indian subcontinent in 1895. It had over 80 individual departments. After a few years, Eugene Oakshott, owner of Spencer's, shifted the department store to a new building, which was an example of Indo-Saracenic style of architecture. The building was designed by W. N. Pogson. 

In 1983, the original building was destroyed in a fire.

The present Spencer Plaza was constructed on the same site, measuring about 10 acres, and was opened in 1991

Main page