Photo credit: Google Street View
The SriLankan Airlines Regional Building (Sinhala: කොළඹ පැරණි ගුවන් සමාගම් ගොඩනැගිල්ල) is located on Sir Baron Jayatilaka Mawatha, opposite the Lloyd's Building in Colombo, Sri Lanka.
History
This building is said to have been used as the office of the Dutch Governor of Ceylon by 1796 and was acquired by the British in 1805 (Sujata, 2020). The building was renovated by the British in 1850 (Manathunga, 2016; Sujata, 2020).
The building
The two-story building has Dutch/ British/Sinhala architectural features (Manathunga, 2016; Sujata, 2020). Some old Dutch pillars that were on the front porch of the building are said to have been replaced by present arches added during the British Period (Manathunga, 2016). The arches have been decorated with horizontal lines. The upper story still preserves Dutch architectural features and the roof which was once covered with calicut clay tiles, is presently covered with asbestos sheets (Sujata, 2020).
This building has been designated as an archaeological protected monument through the government gazette notification published on 8 October 1999.
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.28-29.
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.64-65.
3) The Gazette of the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka. No: 1101. 8 October 1999.
Location Map
This page was last updated on 2 December 2023
