Victoria Memorial
The Victoria Memorial is a large marble building in Kolkata , West Bengal, India, which was built between 1906 and 1921. It is dedicated to the memory of Queen Victoria , then Empress of India, and is now a museum and tourist destination under the auspices of the Ministry of Culture. Lord Curzon, who was then the Viceroy of India suggested setting up a stately memorial in the honour of the late Queen. He appealed to the people of India and the royalties to donate fund generously. The British government surprisingly did not spend a penny on this memorial. A whooping One crore Five Lacs rupees which was the cost to built the monument was donated by the people of India and the royalties! Sir William Emerson, the President of British Institute of Architects, designed the building. The construction of the building was done by Martin & Co. of Kolkata. The foundation stone of this building was laid on January 4, 1906 and it took almost 15 years to comple...