Colombo Lighthouse, previously known as Galle Buck Lighthouse (Sinhala: කොළඹ ප්රදීපාගාරය; Tamil: கொழும்பு கலங்கரை விளக்கம்), is one of the lighthouses in Sri Lanka. It is located on Chaithya Road at Galbokka Point south of the Colombo Port, in Colombo Fort.
History
The lighthouse was built in 1952 to replace the Old Lighthouse on Chatham Street (Welandawe & Weerasinghe, 2016). At the time, it was called the lighthouse at "Galle Buck", the corruption of the Sinhalese name "Galbokka" meaning "rocky bay" (Welandawe & Weerasinghe, 2016). The tower bears architectural features of the Indo-Saracenic style as was common in the second half of the 20th century (Welandawe & Weerasinghe, 2016).
The plaque fixed onto the lighthouse structure can be read as follow;
This monument marks the bold enterprise and vision displayed by the first leaders of free Lanka who by embarking upon such immense constructional works as the Colombo Port Development Scheme of 1950, emulated the shining example of her great kings whose public works shed glory upon this land.
References
1) Welandawe, H., Weerasinghe, J., 2016. Urban Heritage in the Western Region Megapolis Planning Project. p.23.
Location Map
This page was last updated on 21 August 2022