Charing_Cross,_Lahore

Charing Cross, Lahore

Charing Cross, Lahore

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Charing Cross, officially known as Faisal Chowk, is a major road intersection in Lahore, Punjab, Pakistan. Located on Shahrah-e-Quaid-e-Azam, it is a popular site for protests within Lahore.[1]

The Islamic Summit Minar was built near the Charing Cross Pavilion, which once housed a statue of Queen Victoria.

History

The area was part of Donald Town, a neighborhood named after Sir Donald McLeod, who served as Lieutenant-Governor of Punjab between 1865 and 1870.[2] The planned intersection was developed at a juncture between Queens', Montgomery and Mall roads. It came to be known as Charing Cross, which historians believe is after Charing Cross in London.[3][4] The name is recorded in a 1908 publication by G.R. Elmslie titled “Thirty Five Years in the Punjab” (1908, Edinburgh). A 1918-19 ‘B&R Report’ refers to it as the ‘Charing Cross Scheme’.

A white marble pavilion, designed by Bhai Ram Singh, was constructed at Charing Cross in 1901 to mark Queen Victoria's jubilee as the first Empress of India. A bronze statue of Victoria, cast in London in 1900, stood at the site in the pavilion from 1904 until 1951, when it was replaced by a model of the Quran.[1] The statue now stands at Lahore Museum.[5]

To commemorate the 2nd Islamic Summit Conference held at Lahore in 1974, the Islamic Summit Minar was constructed at the site.[1] In 1981 Charing Cross was officially renamed Faisal Chowk to honour King Faisal of Saudi Arabia.[6] In February 2017 a suicide bomber murdered at least 14 people at a protest in the area.[1]

References

  1. [1]
    Imtiaz, H. and Mustafa, M., 2018. The Charing Cross: Unfolding a Genius Loci in Lahore, Pakistan. Cities People Places : An International Journal on Urban Environments, 3(1), pp.1–16.
  2. [2]
    Hunter, William Wilson. Labanakhya to Mysore. United Kingdom, Trübner, 1881.
  3. [3]
    N. Naz and Z. Ashraf, Transformation of Urban Open Spaces of Lahore: From Charing Cross to Faisal Square, Pak. J. Engg. & Appl. Sci. Vol. 2, Jan 2008, pp. 65-78
  4. [4]
    Jan Morris and Simon Winchester (2005). Stones of Empire: The Buildings of the Raj. Oxford University Press. pp. 203–205. ISBN 978-0-19-280596-6.
  5. [5]
    "Lahore roundabout sparks battle of identity in Pakistan". BBC. Retrieved 19 February 2021.
  6. [6]
    Baqir M.; Lahore: Past and Present, Qindeel, Press, Lahore (1984), 456

31.559°N 74.324°E / 31.559; 74.324
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