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{{short description|19th-century building in Kolkata, India}}
{{good article}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=December 2020}}
{{use Indian English|date=December 2020}}
{{Infobox museum
| name = Currency Building
| native_name =
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| image = Currency Building - Dalhousie Square - Kolkata 2012-09-22 0289.JPG
| image_size = 250px
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| alt = Three-story building, viewed from the street with trees in the foreground
| caption = Currency Building, viewed from [[B. B. D. Bagh]] (formerly the 'Dalhousie Square')
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| coordinates = {{coord|22|34|14|N|88|21|01|E|display=inline,title}}
| former_name = [[Agra Bank]] [[Agra Bank#Agra and Masterman's Bank|Agra and Masterman's Bank]] Currency Office [[Reserve Bank of India]] Old Currency Building<ref name="Hindustan Times 1">{{cite news | last = Madhukalya | first = Amrita | title = PM Modi to begin two-day visit to Kolkata, inaugurate 4 revamped buildings | newspaper = [[Hindustan Times]] | location = New Delhi | date = 11 January 2020 | url = https://www.hindustantimes.com/india-news/pm-modi-to-inaugurate-4-buildings-in-kolkata/story-UpCnifwiC4BuuLt0G4awsO.html | access-date = 19 December 2020 | archive-date = 16 January 2020 | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20200116153350/https://www.hindustantimes.com/india-news/pm-modi-to-inaugurate-4-buildings-in-kolkata/story-UpCnifwiC4BuuLt0G4awsO.html | url-status = live }}</ref>
| established = 1833 (built) 1868 (Currency Office conversion) 2020 (post-renovation dedication)
| dissolved =
| location = [[Esplanade, Kolkata|Old Court House Road]] and Surendra Mohan Ghosh Sarani, Lal Dighi, [[B. B. D. Bagh]] (Dalhousie Square), [[Kolkata]], [[West Bengal]], [[India]]
| type = Museum
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| curator = DAG Museums [[National Gallery of Modern Art]] (NGMA)
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| publictransit = {{rint|kolkata|ewm}} [[Mahakaran metro station|Mahakaran]] {{rint|kolkata|tram}} B. B. D. Bagh
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The '''Currency Building''' is an early 19th-century building in the [[B. B. D. Bagh]] (Dalhousie Square) [[central business district]] of [[Kolkata]] in [[West Bengal]], [[India]]. The building was originally built in 1833 to house the Calcutta branch of the [[Agra Bank]]. In 1868, it was converted for use by the Office of the Issue and Exchange of Government Currency, an office of the Controller of the Currency under the [[British Raj]]. From 1935 until 1937, the [[Reserve Bank of India]] (RBI) used the building as its first central office. The building remained in use, and was used at one time by the [[Central Public Works Department]] (CPWD) as a storehouse. Authorities decided to demolish it in 1994.

From 1996 to 1998, the CPWD undertook demolition; but the building was saved from being completely demolished by the [[Indian National Trust for Art and Cultural Heritage]] (INTACH) and the [[Kolkata Municipal Corporation]]. In 2003, custodianship passed to the [[Archaeological Survey of India]] (ASI), which renovated the building from 2005 to 2019. On 11 January 2020, [[Prime Minister of India|Prime Minister]] [[Narendra Modi]] formally dedicated and reopened it as a museum.

The Currency Building is a three-story [[Italianate architecture|Italianate]] structure, consisting of floors covered by [[marble]] and [[Chunar stone|Chunar sandstone]]. Its main entrance features a three-part gate made of [[wrought iron]] and [[Venetian window]]s. The building's central hall, now an open-air courtyard, was formerly topped by three large domes with skylights. During its use as a currency office, the central hall contained the exchange counters for banknotes, gold, silver, and small change. During the building's renovation, the central hall was reorganized into a space for open-air programmes.

== Geography and setting ==
[[File:Vehicles in front of the Old Currency Building at the B. B. D. Bag, in Kolkata.jpg|thumb|Vehicles in front of the Currency Building main entrance at B. B. D. Bag, June 2022.]]
The Currency Building is located at 11B on [[B. B. D. Bagh]] (which is Kolkata's central business district, formerly known as Dalhousie Square), at the intersection of [[Esplanade, Kolkata|Old Court House Road]] and Surendra Mohan Ghosh Sarani.<ref name = "Google 1">{{cite web | url = https://www.google.com/maps/place/Currency+Building/@22.5704176,88.3500358,19z/ | title = Map centered on the Currency Building | publisher = [[Google Maps]] | access-date = 19 December 2020 | year = 2020 | archive-date = 19 December 2020 | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20201219192623/https://www.google.com/maps/place/Currency+Building/@22.5704176,88.3500358,19z/ | url-status = live }}</ref><ref name = "DAG 1">{{cite web | url = https://dagworld.com/exhibitions/ghare-bhare/ | title = Ghare Baire | work = DAG website | publisher = DAG | access-date = 19 December 2020 | year = 2020 | archive-date = 27 October 2020 | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20201027213916/https://dagworld.com/exhibitions/ghare-bhare/ | url-status = live }}</ref><ref name = "Lonely Planet 2019 01">{{Harvnb|Lonely Planet|2019|p=BBD Bagh section.}}</ref> The building's main façade faces west toward B. B. D. Bagh.<ref name = "Google 1"/><ref name="The Telegraph 1">{{cite news | last = Roy | first = Subhajoy | title = Currency Building, a Calcutta heritage, turns into an exhibition hub | newspaper = [[The Telegraph (Kolkata)|The Telegraph]] | location = Kolkata | date = 5 January 2019 | url = https://www.telegraphindia.com/west-bengal/currency-building-a-calcutta-heritage-turns-into-an-exhibition-hub/cid/1680939 | access-date = 19 December 2020 | archive-date = 19 December 2020 | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20201219192632/https://www.telegraphindia.com/west-bengal/currency-building-a-calcutta-heritage-turns-into-an-exhibition-hub/cid/1680939 | url-status = live }}</ref> The Lal Dighi water tank is located approximately {{convert|100|m}} northwest of the building, the [[Mahakaran metro station]] on [[Green Line (Kolkata Metro)|Green Line]] and the B. B. D. Bagh Tram Station are immediately west,<ref name = "Google 1"/><ref name="The Times of India 3">{{cite news | last = Chakraborty | first = Ajanta | title = Kolkata: After work for 29 months, station structure ready at Mahakaran | newspaper = [[The Times of India]] | location = Mumbai | date = 24 February 2020 | url = https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/kolkata/kolkata-after-work-for-29-months-station-structure-ready-at-mahakaran/articleshow/74275233.cms | access-date = 2 April 2021 | archive-date = 27 February 2020 | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20200227162509/https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/kolkata/kolkata-after-work-for-29-months-station-structure-ready-at-mahakaran/articleshow/74275233.cms | url-status = live }}</ref> and the [[Hooghly River]] is approximately {{convert|660|m}} west.<ref name = "Google 1"/>

== History ==

=== Bank headquarters and currency office ===
Calcutta served as the capital of the [[British Raj]] from the 18th century until 1911, when [[New Delhi]] became the capital.<ref name = "WMF 1">{{cite web | url = https://www.wmf.org/project/dalhousie-square | title = Dalhousie Square | work = World Monuments Fund website | publisher = [[World Monuments Fund]] | access-date = 3 April 2021 | year = 2021 | archive-date = 24 November 2020 | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20201124031319/https://www.wmf.org/project/dalhousie-square | url-status = live }}</ref> During Calcutta's tenure as capital, Dalhousie Square was the city’s financial, social, and political center.<ref name = "WMF 1"/> The plot in Dalhousie Square, on which the Currency Building now stands, was originally the site of the Calcutta Auction Company's office building.<ref name="Deccan Chronicle 1">{{cite news | last = Chaudhuri | first = Drimi | title = Restoring glory of Currency Building | newspaper = [[Deccan Chronicle]] | location = Hyderabad | date = 31 May 2015 | url = https://www.deccanherald.com/content/480674/restoring-glory-currency-building.html | access-date = 22 December 2020 | archive-date = 31 December 2020 | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20201231211852/https://www.deccanherald.com/content/480674/restoring-glory-currency-building.html | url-status = live }}</ref> In 1825, the Agra Bank{{efn|name=fn1|The Agra Bank was established in 1833.<ref name = "RBI 2">{{cite web | url = https://www.rbi.org.in/scripts/ms_banks.aspx | title = Museum: The Advent of Modern Banking in India, 1720 to 1850s | work = Reserve Bank of India website | publisher = [[Reserve Bank of India]] | access-date = 22 December 2020 | year = 2020 | archive-date = 31 December 2020 | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20201231211852/https://www.rbi.org.in/scripts/ms_banks.aspx | url-status = live }}</ref> The Agra Bank became the Agra and United Service Bank, Limited, in 1862, and it subsequently merged with Masterman, Peters, Mildred, Birkbeck and Company, in 1864, and became the Agra and Masterman's Bank, Limited.<ref name = "Mäkitie 2016 36">{{Harvnb|Mäkitie|2016|p=36.}}</ref><ref name = "Jones 1995 403">{{Harvnb|Jones|1995|p=403.}}</ref> Agra and Masterman's Bank ceased operation in June 1866,<ref name = "Jones 1995 403"/><ref name = "Hemming 1870 730">{{Harvnb|Hemming|1870|p=730.}}</ref> and in December 1866, all "property and effects" of the bank were transferred to Agra Bank, Limited,<ref name = "Hemming 1870 730"/><ref name = "London Gazette 23192">{{London Gazette|issue=23192|date=30 November 1866|page=6695}}</ref> which was reincorporated in 1867.<ref name = "Jones 1995 403"/> Agra Bank, Limited, continued operation until its liquidation in 1900.<ref name = "Jones 1995 403"/>}} acquired the plot,<ref name="Deccan Chronicle 1"/> constructing, in 1833, during [[Lord William Bentinck|William Bentinck]]'s tenure as [[Governor-General of India|governor general]], the present-day building to house its Calcutta branch.<ref name = "ASI 1">{{cite web | url = https://www.asikolkata.in/kolkata.aspx | title = Monuments | work = Archaeological Survey of India, Kolkata Circle website | publisher = [[Archaeological Survey of India]], Kolkata Circle | access-date = 19 December 2020 | year = 2020 | archive-date = 18 September 2020 | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20200918230607/http://asikolkata.in/kolkata.aspx | url-status = live }}</ref><ref name="The Hindu 1">{{cite news | last = Ghosh | first = Bishwanath | title = 1833 building that escaped demolition is now a goldmine of art | newspaper = [[The Hindu]] | location = Chennai | date = 14 December 2020 | url = https://www.thehindu.com/news/cities/kolkata/1833-building-that-escaped-demolition-is-now-a-goldmine-of-art/article33329891.ece | access-date = 19 December 2020 | archive-date = 19 December 2020 | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20201219073852/https://www.thehindu.com/news/cities/kolkata/1833-building-that-escaped-demolition-is-now-a-goldmine-of-art/article33329891.ece | url-status = live }}</ref><ref name="The Economic Times 1">{{cite news | title = ASI steps to restore 200-year-old Currency building in Dalhousie | newspaper = [[The Economic Times]] | location = Mumbai | date = 20 February 2015 | url = https://economictimes.indiatimes.com/news/politics-and-nation/asi-steps-to-restore-200-year-old-currency-building-in-dalhousie/articleshow/46308607.cms | access-date = 19 December 2020 | archive-date = 9 April 2021 | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20210409230751/https://economictimes.indiatimes.com/news/politics-and-nation/asi-steps-to-restore-200-year-old-currency-building-in-dalhousie/articleshow/46308607.cms | url-status = live }}</ref> The Agra Bank ceased operation in 1866.<ref name = "Hemming 1870 730"/>{{efn|name=fn2|While sources differ on the year of the Agra Bank's failure (1866 or 1886) and on the year of the Currency Department's acquisition of the Currency Building (1868, 1886, or 1888), the Reserve Bank of India, the [[Court of Chancery]], and [[statistician]] [[John Biddulph Martin]] state that the Agra Bank failed in 1866.<ref name = "RBI 2"/><ref name = "Hemming 1870 730"/><ref name = "Martin 1879 678">{{Harvnb|Martin|1879|p=678.}}</ref>}}
[[File:Currency Department, Calcutta by Francis Frith.jpg|thumb|right|Currency Building, while occupied by the Currency Department]]
In 1868, the imperial Controller of the Currency converted a large portion of the Currency Building for use by the Office of the Issue and Exchange of Government Currency, after which it became known as the Currency Building.<ref name = "ASI 1"/><ref name = "The Hindu 1"/><ref name="The Economic Times 1"/> The [[India Government Mint, Kolkata|Calcutta Mint]] sent silver coins to the currency office, to maintain a working reserve of currency, while the bulk of India's silver was held in [[Fort William, India|Fort William]].<ref name = "Suhrawardy 1936 74"/><ref name = "Cotton 1980 744">{{Harvnb|Cotton|1980|p=744.}}</ref> In addition to issuing and storing coinage, the Indian government also utilized the building for the issue of paper currency.<ref name="The Hindu 2">{{cite news | last = Singh | first = Shiv Sahay | title = Restoring value to the Currency Building | newspaper = [[The Hindu]] | location = Chennai | date = 11 February 2015 | url = https://www.thehindu.com/news/national/restoring-value-to-the-currency-building/article6880033.ece | access-date = 19 December 2020 | archive-date = 7 May 2020 | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20200507002345/https://www.thehindu.com/news/national/restoring-value-to-the-currency-building/article6880033.ece | url-status = live }}</ref> Between 1889 and 1890, the Bengal government improved the building's drainage, as part of its maintenance of Calcutta's civil buildings.<ref name = "Administration of Bengal 1890 207–208">{{Harvnb|Administration of Bengal|1890|pp=207–208.}}</ref>

Following the establishment of the [[Reserve Bank of India]] (RBI) on 1 April 1935,<ref name= "The Economic Journal 1">{{cite journal|last=Kisch | first = Cecil |title=Review 'The Monetary Policy of Reserve Bank of India' by Rohit |journal=[[The Economic Journal]] | location = Oxford |volume= 59|issue=235 |year=1949|pages=436–438|doi=10.2307/2226888|jstor=2226888}}</ref> the Currency Building served as RBI's first central office from 1935 to 1937.<ref name="The Economic Times 1"/><ref name="The Hindu 2"/><ref name = "RBI 1">{{cite web | url = https://m.rbi.org.in/regionalbranch/kolkata/Profile.aspx | title = Kolkata Regional Office of the Reserve Bank of India Profile | work = Reserve Bank of India website | publisher = [[Reserve Bank of India]] | access-date = 19 December 2020 | year = 2020 | archive-date = 19 December 2020 | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20201219210448/https://m.rbi.org.in/regionalbranch/kolkata/Profile.aspx | url-status = live }}</ref> The RBI was established to regulate the issuance of banknotes, maintain reserves to secure monetary stability, and operate India's currency and credit systems.<ref name = "RBI 3">{{cite web | url = https://www.rbi.org.in/scripts/briefhistory.aspx | title = Milestones | work = Reserve Bank of India website | publisher = [[Reserve Bank of India]] | access-date = 28 March 2021 | year = 2021 | archive-date = 8 March 2021 | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20210308012150/https://www.rbi.org.in/scripts/briefhistory.aspx | url-status = live }}</ref> In 1937, the RBI relocated its central office from the Currency Building to [[Mumbai|Bombay]].<ref name="The Economic Times 1"/><ref name="The Hindu 2"/><ref name = "RBI 1"/> From 1937 to 1994, the building remained in use, but it suffered neglect. At one point it was used by the CPWD as a storehouse.<ref name="The Telegraph 1"/><ref name="The Hindu 1"/><ref name="The Hindu 2"/>

=== Renovation ===
In 1994, authorities decided to raze the Currency Building due to structural deterioration;<ref name="The Hindu 1"/> and custodianship passed to the CPWD, which planned to build a high-rise building in its place.<ref name="The Telegraph 1"/><ref name="The Economic Times 1"/><ref name="The Times of India 1">{{cite news | author =  | title = 3 colonial structures restored in Kolkata; PM to do the re-dedication | newspaper = [[The Times of India]] | location = Mumbai | date = 11 February 2015 | url = https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/travel/things-to-do/3-colonial-structures-restored-in-kolkata-pm-to-do-the-re-dedication/as73183564.cms | access-date = 19 December 2020 | archive-date = 18 September 2020 | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20200918113720/https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/travel/things-to-do/3-colonial-structures-restored-in-kolkata-pm-to-do-the-re-dedication/as73183564.cms | url-status = live }}</ref> In 1996, the CPWD commenced the building's demolition.<ref name="The Hindu 1"/> The department had demolished the building's three large domes over the central hall before the [[Indian National Trust for Art and Cultural Heritage]] (INTACH) and the [[Kolkata Municipal Corporation]] intervened and halted demolition in 1998.<ref name="The Telegraph 1"/><ref name="The Hindu 1"/><ref name="The Economic Times 1"/> Custodianship passed to the [[Archaeological Survey of India]] (ASI) in 2003 and they took possession of the building in 2005.<ref name="The Telegraph 1"/><ref name="The Hindu 1"/><ref name="The Economic Times 1"/>

In 2004 and 2006, the [[World Monuments Fund]] included the historic buildings of Dalhousie Square on its [[World Monuments Fund#World Monuments Watch|World Monuments Watch]] to garner funding and support for local conservationists to preserve the square's buildings.<ref name = "WMF 1"/><ref name="Deccan Herald 1">{{cite news | title = A tale of two cities | newspaper = [[Deccan Herald]] | location = Bengaluru | date = 2 July 2011 | url = https://www.deccanherald.com/content/173194/a-tale-two-cities.html | access-date = 3 April 2021 | archive-date = 15 March 2017 | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20170315055815/http://www.deccanherald.com/content/173194/a-tale-two-cities.html | url-status = live }}</ref> Propelled by this watch-listing, the [[Government of West Bengal]] promised to preserve the district's buildings.<ref name = "WMF 1"/><ref name="Deccan Herald 1"/> In 2009, the Kolkata Municipal Corporation approved a graded list of historic landmarks, which listed the Currency Building as a Grade I heritage building.<ref name = "KMC 2009 4 & 46">{{Harvnb|Kolkata Municipal Corporation|2009|pp=4 & 46.}}</ref>

ASI was entrusted with the Currency Building's conservation and restoration, which was led by a technical team of engineers and archaeologists.<ref name="The Telegraph 1"/><ref name="The Hindu 1"/><ref name="The Economic Times 1"/> It took two years to remove demolition debris and then commence the building's restoration by repairing and reconstructing the demolished portions around the building's central hall.<ref name="The Economic Times 1"/> The project was delayed due to a shortage of workers skilled in [[lime plaster]]ing.<ref name="The Economic Times 1"/> By 2019, ASI had an exhibition space and bookshop in the Currency Building.<ref name = "Lonely Planet 2019 01"/>

=== Museum and event space ===
[[File:Ghare Baire Gallery 3.jpg|thumb|Photographs of [[Satyajit Ray]] by [[Nemai Ghosh (photographer)|Nemai Ghosh]]]]
[[File:Ghare Baire Gallery 6.jpg|thumb|right|Interior exhibition space]]
Following the building's restoration, the Currency Building hosted a [[jute]] and silk exhibition organized by India's National Jute Board in 2019.<ref name="The Telegraph 1"/> On 11 January 2020, [[Prime Minister of India]] [[Narendra Modi]] formally dedicated the Currency Building as a public museum to the nation at its reopening ceremony.<ref name="The Hindu 1"/> It was one of four restored colonial buildings in Kolkata to be dedicated by Modi, along with [[Metcalfe Hall]], [[Belvedere Estate|Belvedere House]], and the [[Victoria Memorial, Kolkata|Victoria Memorial]].<ref name="Hindustan Times 1"/><ref name="The Times of India 1"/><ref name="Ministry of Culture 1">{{cite press release |author=[[Press Information Bureau]] |date=11 January 2020 |title=Prime Minister Dedicates Four Refurbished Heritage Buildings in Kolkata to the Nation |url=https://pib.gov.in/PressReleasePage.aspx?PRID=1599173 |location=Delhi |publisher=[[Press Information Bureau]] |agency=[[Ministry of Culture (India)|Ministry of Culture]] |access-date=19 December 2020 |archive-date=19 December 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201219204848/https://pib.gov.in/PressReleasePage.aspx?PRID=1599173 |url-status=live }}</ref>

The building's reopening marked the start of its inaugural art exhibition, ''Ghare Baire | The World, The Home and Beyond: 18th-20th Century Art in Bengal'', which opened on 12 January 2020.<ref name = "DAG 1"/><ref name="The Hindu 1"/> The exhibition was commissioned by India's [[Ministry of Culture (India)|Ministry of Culture]], and was organised and curated by DAG Museums—a private art curation and education organisation—in collaboration with the [[National Gallery of Modern Art]] (NGMA).<ref name = "DAG 1"/><ref name="The Hindu 1"/> According to DAG, the exhibition was "the first comprehensive showcasing of the art and artists of [[Bengal]]".<ref name = "DAG 1"/> Entry to the exhibition is free.<ref name="The Hindu 1"/> The museum and exhibition were briefly closed due to the [[COVID-19 pandemic in West Bengal|Coronavirus Disease 2019]] (COVID-19) pandemic.<ref name="The Hindu 1"/> In February 2021, two works of [[Abdur Rahman Chughtai]], considered Pakistan's national artist, were displayed for the first time at the Currency Building as part of the ''Ghare Baire'' exhibit.<ref name="The Times of India 2">{{cite news | last = Dasgupta | first = Priyanka | title = Pak artist's paintings on display at Kolkata expo | newspaper = [[The Times of India]] | location = Mumbai | date = 13 February 2021 | url = https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/kolkata/pak-artists-paintings-on-display-at-city-expo/articleshow/80887123.cms | access-date = 28 March 2021 | archive-date = 14 February 2021 | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20210214024339/https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/kolkata/pak-artists-paintings-on-display-at-city-expo/articleshow/80887123.cms | url-status = live }}</ref><ref name="Britannica 1">{{cite web|title=Abdur Rahman Chughtai, Pakistani artist|url=https://www.britannica.com/biography/Abdur-Rahman-Chughtai|publisher=[[Encyclopædia Britannica]]|access-date=28 March 2021|archive-date=17 September 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180917172127/https://www.britannica.com/biography/Abdur-Rahman-Chughtai|url-status=live}}</ref> In January 2021, the Currency Building also served as an event space for talks given as part of the Apeejay Kolkata Literary Festival 2021.<ref name="Outlook 1">{{cite news | title = While some of the talks will be held at the newly renovated Heritage Currency Building under strict COVID-19 safety protocols, others will be conducted in a live streaming format | newspaper = [[Outlook (Indian magazine)|Outlook]] | location = New Delhi | date = 22 January 2021 | url = https://www.outlookindia.com/outlooktraveller/travelnews/story/71095/apeejay-kolkata-literary-festival-2021 | access-date = 28 March 2021 | archive-date = 23 February 2021 | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20210223115718/https://www.outlookindia.com/outlooktraveller/travelnews/story/71095/apeejay-kolkata-literary-festival-2021 | url-status = live }}</ref>

== Architecture ==
[[File:Ghare Baire Gallery 2.jpg|thumb|right|Open-air central hall]]
[[File:Currency Building Central Hall.jpg|thumb|Mural in the Central Hall ]]
The Currency Building is a three-story brick structure, built in the [[Italianate architecture|Italianate style of architecture]].<ref name = "ASI 1"/><ref name = "Cotton 1980 744"/> The building's arched roof is supported by iron [[joist]]s.<ref name = "ASI 1"/><ref name="The Hindu 2"/> Its floors are covered by [[marble]] and [[Chunar stone|Chunar sandstone]].<ref name = "ASI 1"/><ref name="The Hindu 2"/> The main entrance, in the west-façade, features a three-part gate made of [[wrought iron]],<ref name = "ASI 1"/> and [[Venetian window]]s.<ref name="Hindustan Times 1"/><ref name="The Hindu 2"/><ref name="The Times of India 1"/> The building's central hall, now an open-air courtyard, was formerly topped by three large domes with skylights.<ref name = "ASI 1"/><ref name = "Suhrawardy 1936 74">{{Harvnb|Suhrawardy|1936|p=74}}</ref> During the building's use as a currency office, the central hall contained the exchange counters for banknotes, gold, silver, and small change.<ref name = "Suhrawardy 1936 74"/><ref name = "Cotton 1980 744"/> The second floor contained large, elaborately finished rooms with [[List of types of marble#Italy|Italian marble]] floors.<ref name = "Cotton 1980 744"/> The third floor also featured Italian marble floors, and housed the residence of the assistant commissioner in charge of the currency office.<ref name = "ASI 1"/><ref name = "Cotton 1980 744"/>

The initial plan during renovation was to construct a glass roof over the central hall where the three domes were formerly located; however, ASI cancelled this plan and reorganized the central hall into a space for open-air programmes.<ref name="The Telegraph 1"/> ASI installed motion-sensor-equipped glass doors to provide access between the central hall and adjacent interior corridors;<ref name="Hindustan Times 1"/><ref name="The Telegraph 1"/> polished the windows and doors in the western wing; repainted the exterior façade white;<ref name="The Telegraph 1"/> plastered the interior walls; repaired floors; restored decaying wooden staircases;<ref name="Hindustan Times 1"/><ref name="The Economic Times 1"/> and overhauled the drainage system to mitigate seepage from the drainage lines of adjacent buildings.<ref name="Hindustan Times 1"/><ref name="The Economic Times 1"/> During this project, ASI archaeologists uncovered evidence of an underground canal from the nearby Hooghly River, the water from which was used to cool newly minted coins.<ref name="The Hindu 2"/>

== References ==

=== Explanatory notes ===
{{reflist|group=lower-alpha}}

=== Citations ===
{{reflist}}

== Bibliography ==
{{Refbegin|30em}}
* {{cite book | author = Administration of Bengal | year = 1890 | title = Report of the Administration of Bengal, 1889–90 | publisher = The Bengal Secretariat Press | location = Calcutta | url = https://archive.org/details/dli.granth.109930/ | via = [[Internet Archive]] }}
* {{cite book | last = Cotton | first = H. E. A. | author-link = Evan Cotton | editor-last = Ray | editor-first = N. A. | year = 1980 | title = Calcutta Old and New: A Historical and Descriptive Handbook to the City | publisher = B. Sinha | location = Calcutta | url = https://archive.org/details/dli.ernet.505628/ | via = [[Internet Archive]] }}
* {{cite book | editor-last = Hemming | editor-first = G. W. | year = 1870 | title = The Law Reports: Equity Cases, Including Bankruptcy Cases, Before The Master of the Rolls, the Vice-Chancellors, and the Chief Judge in Bankruptcy | publisher = William Clowes and Sons, Printed for the Council of Law Reporting | location = London | volume = IX | url = https://books.google.com/books?id=Ewo8AQAAMAAJ | via = [[Google Books]] | access-date = 31 December 2020 | archive-date = 31 December 2020 | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20201231211936/https://www.google.com/books/edition/The_Law_Reports/Ewo8AQAAMAAJ | url-status = live }}
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* {{cite journal |last=Mäkitie |first=Ilkka |date=July 2016 |title=British Circular Notes – a listing with illustrations |url=https://archive.org/details/IBNSJournal2016vol55no3/ |journal=International Bank Note Society Journal |volume=55 |issue=3 |pages=30–38 |access-date=24 December 2020 |via=[[Internet Archive]] }}
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{{refend}}

== External links ==
{{Commons|Currency Building, Kolkata}}
*[http://verdensteatret.com/currency The Currency Building] at verdensteatret

{{Kolkata topics}}
{{Tourist attractions in Kolkata}}
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{{DEFAULTSORT:Currency Building}}
[[Category:1833 establishments in India]]
[[Category:Art museums and galleries in Kolkata]]
[[Category:British colonial architecture in India]]
[[Category:Buildings and structures completed in 1833]]
[[Category:Buildings and structures in Kolkata]]
[[Category:Government buildings in West Bengal]]
[[Category:19th century in Kolkata]]
[[Category:Italianate architecture in India]]
[[Category:Monuments of National Importance in West Bengal]]
[[Category:Office buildings completed in 2020]]
[[Category:Reserve Bank of India]]
[[Category:Tourist attractions in Kolkata]]

Currency Building - Revision history

Birjesh Kumar at 02:39, 9 February 2026