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{{Short description|Former auditorium in Ahmedabad, India}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=December 2022}}
{{Use Indian English|date=December 2022}}
{{Infobox building
| name = Ahmedabad Town Hall
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| image = File:Ahmedabad Town Hall.jpg
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| caption = Ahmedabad Town Hall, in 2014
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| former_names =
| alternate_names = Sheth Mangaldas Girdhardas Memorial Hall
| etymology =
| status =
| cancelled =
| topped_out =
| building_type = [[Auditorium]]
| architectural_style = [[Art Deco]] with inspirations from [[Māru-Gurjara architecture|Gujarati Hindu temples]]
| classification =

| address = Near Ellisbridge
| location_city = [[Ahmedabad]]
| location_country = [[India]]
| coordinates = {{coord|display=inline, title}}
| altitude =
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| namesake =
| groundbreaking_date =
| construction_start_date = 1936<ref>{{Cite book|first=Jon T.|last=Lang|title=A Concise History of Modern Architecture in India|publisher=Orient Blackswan|year=2002|isbn=9788178240176|pages=18}}</ref>
| est_completion = 1938
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| relocated_date =
| renovation_date = 1960s, 1997-98
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| owner = [[Amdavad Municipal Corporation]]
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| material = Brick Wall, Concrete Dome
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| floor_count = 2
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| architect = [[Claude Batley]]
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| ren_architect = Kamal Mangaldas
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| ren_engineer =
| ren_str_engineer = Devendra Shah
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The '''Ahmedabad Town Hall''', officially '''Sheth Mangaldas Girdhardas Memorial Hall''', is an [[auditorium]] in [[Ahmedabad]], [[India]]. It is named after Mangaldas Girdhardas, a textile industrialist.<ref>{{Cite web|title=Colonial Architecture – A Complete Ahmedabad City Guide|author= Dr. Manek Patel |url=https://www.welcometoahmedabad.com/126/colonial-architecture.html|website=www.welcometoahmedabad.com|access-date=2020-05-22}}</ref> Built in 1930s and renovated twice, it is now abandoned.

== History ==
The town hall was constructed in 1930s as a memorial to Mangaldas Girdhardas, a noted textile industrialist in the 20th century, with funds donated by the citizens. It is owned by the [[Ahmedabad Municipal Corporation]].<ref name=":0">{{Cite web|title=Sheth Mangaldas Town Hall {{!}} Kamal Mangaldas Architect|url=http://kamalmangaldas.net/project/sheth-mangaldas-town-hall|website=kamalmangaldas.net|access-date=2020-05-23}}</ref>

It was renovated in the 1960s under [[B. V. Doshi]]. He had opted for a false ceiling for better [[acoustics]].<ref name=":0" />

Extensive renovation was carried out in 1997–98 under architect Kamal Mangaldas, a grandson of Mangaldas Girdhardas. He removed the false ceiling and added a podium around the original building.<ref name=":0" />

It is abandoned now.<ref>{{Cite web |date=2025-03-28 |title=Ahmedabad fails its iconic theatres |url=https://www.ahmedabadmirror.com/world-theatre-day/81888154.html |access-date=2025-04-25 |website=Ahmedabad Mirror |language=en}}</ref>

== Architecture ==
The town hall was designed by British architect [[Claude Batley]] in 1939, who also designed the [[M. J. Library]] next to it.<ref>{{Cite book |last=[[Achyut Yagnik]] |title=Ahmedabad: From Royal city to Megacity |publisher=Penguin UK |year=2011 |isbn=9788184754735}}</ref><ref name=":1">{{Cite web|title=Modern Architecture and Capitalist Patronage in Ahmedabad, India 1947–1969|url=https://www.proquest.com/openview/5ceca4c870c2f6262d3f6ba9efd59efe/1?pq-origsite=gscholar&cbl=18750&diss=y|last=Williamson|first=Daniel|date=2016|website=ProQuest Dissertations Publishing|publisher=New York University|pages=288–291|id={{ProQuest|}}|access-date=2020-05-22}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|last=Pandya|first=Yatin|date=2013-01-07|title=Ahmedabad: Where masters crafted their dreams|url=https://www.dnaindia.com/analysis/column-ahmedabad-where-masters-crafted-their-dreams-1786534|access-date=2021-04-18|website=DNA India|language=en}}</ref>

It is an example of an [[Art Deco]] building.<ref name=":0" /> The plan of the building is designed by using two rotating squares placed at 45 degrees forming a star-shape. The resulting [[octagonal]] space is designed as a seating area. Rectangles are added to the front and rear of the central square which formed a [[Vestibule (architecture)|vestibule]] and a stage respectively. The star-shaped building is capped by a dome on an octagonal space. The whole plan takes inspiration from the [[Mandapa|''mandapa''s]] of [[Māru-Gurjara architecture|Gujarati Hindu temples]]. The exterior has exposed bricks with stepped back corners invoking the complex exterior of Hindu temples.<ref name=":1" /><ref name=":2">{{Cite journal|last1=Vasavada|first1=Rabindra|last2=Cunha|first2=Dilip da|last3=Tiwari|first3=Meenu|date=2020|title=Modernity – An important phase in History of Architecture of India|url=https://architexturez.net/doc/az-cf-205137|journal=Seminar on Architecture|issue=12 |language=en}}</ref>

The thick walls were constructed from bricks and an octagonal concrete dome was constructed over it. The ''[[Chhajja]]'' and ornate grills in the structure show influence of Gujarati architectural heritage.<ref>{{Cite book|title=India: Modern Architectures in History|publisher=Reaktion Books, 2015|year=2015|isbn=9781780234687|pages=100}}</ref><ref name=":2" />

== See also ==
* [[Tagore Memorial Hall]]
* [[Premabhai Hall]]
* [[Vijali Ghar]]

==References==
{{reflist}}

==External links==
* [http://kamalmangaldas.net/project/sheth-mangaldas-town-hall Building plan drawings]

{{Ahmedabad topics|status=collapsed}}
[[Category:Auditoriums in India]]
[[Category:Buildings and structures in Ahmedabad]]
[[Category:British colonial architecture in India]]
[[Category:Art Deco architecture in India]]
[[Category:Buildings and structures completed in 1938]]
[[Category:Māru-Gurjara architecture]]

Ahmedabad Town Hall - Revision history

Vedpsagar at 06:10, 28 February 2026