The Old Mathews Building, located at No. 23 Canal Row Street in Colombo Fort, Sri Lanka, was constructed in 1896 by C.J. Mathew.
Old Mathews Building (Colombo Fort)
Colombo Old Mathews Building (Photo credit: Google Street View) Old Mathews Building (Sinhala: කොළඹ පැරණි මැතිව්ස් ගොඩනැගිල්ල, කැනල් රෝ) is located at No. 23, Canal Row Street in Colombo Fort, Sri Lanka. In the second half of the 19th century, Messrs. C. Mathew & Co. was the leading local firm that engaged in the business of ship chandlers and stevedores at the port of Colombo (Wright, 1999). This business was established near the British India Hotel in Colombo Fort by Bastian but later it came into the possession of the Mathew family (Wright, 1999). After the death of C. Mathew in 1892, his son C.J. Mathew took over the business in Canal Row where the present building of the firm was built in 1896 (Sujata, 2020; Wright, 1999). The rectangular-shaped building consists of a basement and two stories separated by a wooden floor (Manathunga, 2016). The main entrance is positioned towards the southern direction and a small balcony has been built above the entrance door (Sujata, 2020). The…
