The De Mel Building (Sinhala: ඩි මෙල් ගොඩනැගිල්ල) is a heritage building located at No. 103, Chatham Street in Colombo Fort, Sri Lanka. It is home to H. L. De Mel & Co. (Pvt) Ltd., the plantation company.
This building with an extent of 20,000 sq. ft. consists of a basement and three floors and is said to have been built in 1921. A restaurant is maintained on the ground floor while the upper floors are reserved for office activities of of H. L. De Mel Co. Ltd (Manathunga, 2016; Sujata, 2020). The basement is not in use today (Sujata, 2020). The facade of the building is decorated with cylindrical columns of Corinthian style and floral designs (Manathunga, 2016).
The wooden furniture and the old hydraulic elevator are considered some important aspects of the building (Sujata, 2020). Although several changes and alterations have been made inside, the original architectural features of the facade of the building still remain intact (Sujata, 2020).
Attribution
References
1) Manathunga, S. B., 2016. Pauranika Sthana Saha Smaraka: Kolamba Distrikkaya (In Sinhala). Department of Archaeology (Sri Lanka). ISBN: 955-9159-39-9. pp.31-32.
2) Sujata, D. A., 2020. Aithihasika Kolamba Kotuwe Puravidya Smaraka [(Archaeological monuments of historic Colombo Fort) In Sinhala]. Department of Archaeology. Ministry of Cultural Affairs. ISBN: 978-955-7457-26-0. pp.86-87.
2) Sujata, D. A., 2020. Aithihasika Kolamba Kotuwe Puravidya Smaraka [(Archaeological monuments of historic Colombo Fort) In Sinhala]. Department of Archaeology. Ministry of Cultural Affairs. ISBN: 978-955-7457-26-0. pp.86-87.
Location Map
This page was last updated on 3 December 2023