The Olcott Building in Colombo, built between 1881-1885, was once the residence of Henry Steel Olcott, a key figure in Sri Lanka's Buddhist revival.
Olcott Building (Colombo)
The Olcott Building (Sinhala: ඕල්කට් ගොඩනැගිල්ල) is an old two-storied building located in Pettah in Colombo, Sri Lanka. It was the residence of Colonel Henry Steel Olcott (1832-1907), an American who played a major role in the revival of Buddhism in Sri Lanka in the latter part of the 19th century (Manathunga, 2016; Rajapakshe et al., 2018). History Built between 1881-1885, this two-storied building was the residence of Colonel Henry Steel Olcott, the co-founder of the Theosophical Society who arrived in Sri Lanka in 1880 (Manathunga, 2016; Rajapakshe et al., 2018). Later, an English Buddhist school named " Pitakotuwa Ingrisi Bauddha Pasala " was established on the upper floor of this building by the Theosophical Society (Manathunga, 2016). This school was later moved to land at Maradana and presently it is known as Ananda College (Manathunga, 2016). In 1929, a building named " Bauddha Mandiraya " (Buddhist Mansion) was annexed to this for the usage of the Theosophical …
