About

The building that serves as the headquarters of the Central Railway was originally built as the headquarters of the Great Indian Peninsular Railway. The GIPR logo can still be seen on the walls of the booking hall, along with the coat of arms for GIPL. The coat of arms depicts an elephant on the top-left, a steam engine on the top right, the cross of St. George on the bottom right, and the Coat of Arms of the United Kingdom on the bottom left. The railway building was completed in 1887, the Golden Jubilee of Queen Victoria, and was named Victoria Terminus to commemorate the occasion.
It's basic plan is symmetrical on an east–west axis, with a long central wing flanked by projections on the north and south, forming a C-shaped structure. The long central wing is crowned by a high central octagonal ribbed dome topped by a colossal female figure symbolising Progress. This statue holds a torch pointing upwards in her right hand and a spoked wheel in her left hand. The side wings enclose a courtyard, which opens on to the street.
The wings have turrets at each of their four corners complementing the central dome. There are statues representing Commerce, Agriculture, Engineering and Science standing atop the ridge on the northern and southern fronts, as well as the ridge on the projecting sections on the north and south.
The outer walls of the long corridor running just inside the west-facing facade feature busts of Dufferin and Dalhousie, among others in the spandrels above the arches.
The entrance gates are flanked by figures of a lion (representing Great Britain) and a tiger (representing India).
The ornamentation is in the form of statuary, bas-relief, and friezes. The main structure is built from a blend of India sandstone and limestone, while high-quality Italian marble has been used for decorative elements. The ground floor of the North Wing is still used as the booking office. It has four tall columns in the hallway rising to ribbed arches which support the vaulted roof above. The bases of these columns are decorated with heads of dogs, lions, rams, and cats. The pillars are made of Italian marble and polished Indian blue stone. The stone arches are covered with carved foliage. The ceiling of the booking hall was originally painted blue, gold and strong red on a ground of rich blue with gold stars. Its walls were once lined with glazed tiles.
The porch outside the ticketing hall on the north features leopards and lemurs climbing down the walls.
There are eighteen platforms for trains terminating at the station.
The station's name was officially changed from Victoria Terminus to Chhatrapati Shivaji Terminus, in 1996.

Architecture

The building is designed in the High Victorian Gothic style.

The building design exhibits influences from Victorian, Italianate Gothic Revival architecture, and Indian architecture.

The skyline, turrets, pointed arches, and eccentric ground plan are prominent features of the building.

Decorative elements such as wood carvings, tiles, ornamental iron and brass railings, and balustrades are later day additions by the staff and students of the JJ School of Art

It's central octagonal dome of dovetailed ribs is built without centering.

The style of the station is also similar to other public buildings of the 1870s in Mumbai, such as the Elphinstone College and Mumbai University buildings.

Trivia

A marble statue of Queen Victoria was installed in the main façade of the building, in a canopy under the clock. It was removed in the 1950s and its not currently traceable.

Three engines were used to haul the first train that ran in India. The names of the engines were Saheb, Sindh, and Sultan

The station was designed by Frederick William Stevens, a British engineer architect, attached to the Bombay office of the Indian colonial Public Works Department.