Chhatrapati Shivaji Terminus
 The Chhatrapati Shivaji Terminus is an outstanding example of the Victorian Gothic Revival architecture in India, blended with themes deriving from Indian traditional architecture. The building, designed by the British architect F. W. Stevens, became the symbol of Bombay as the ‘Gothic City’ and the major international mercantile port of India. The terminal was built over 10 years, starting in 1878, according to a High Victorian Gothic design based on late medieval Italian models.
Its remarkable stone dome, turrets, pointed arches and eccentric ground plan are close to traditional Indian palace architecture. It is an outstanding example of the meeting of two cultures, as British architects worked with Indian craftsmen to include Indian architectural tradition and idioms, thus forging a new style unique to Bombay.
It is one of the busiest railway stations in India and serves as the headquarters of the Central Railway of India. The station is positioned on the suburban railway tracks of Mumbai and has been declared a world Heritage Site. Built in local sandstone, the style is a combination of the then popular English Venetian Gothic styles endorsed with elements of Indian architecture. The central dome bears a thirteen feet solid figurine personifying ‘Progress’, with its arms raised towards the sky on the south-western part of the building.
The unique Bombay style of architecture has also been followed while building the structure. It was an emerging trend during the days of the Raj when British architects worked with Indian craftsmen. The trend was to fuse Indian architectural tradition and expressions to structures and buildings alongside Victorian or the Gothic styles. There is a clock on the tower with a diameter of 3.19 meters. Carvings of gargoyles, and animals like elephants, peacocks, monkeys, and lions intermingle with the domes, ramparts, spires turrets, and stained glass windows. The terminus looks more like a cathedral than a terminus.
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