Coimbatore Medical College

The government Coimbatore District Head Quarters Hospital on Trichy road is a land mark. Today known as the CMC Hospital the hospital as such was started in 1892 in temporary sheds. The foundation stone of the sturdy main structure we see today in its original form was laid by Sir Arthur Lawley in 1909 and completed in 1914.Well maintained by the PWD. Its outer walls are of stones the inner walls of bricks and martar. Reminiscent of an English manor the doors windows and the majestic staircase are of solid teak; the floors are of cuddapah stone (slate).The structure has a ground floor with a hall way from which the gracious staircase leads to an upper floor. A verandah runs all around with a wing on either side. While one wing used to be the maternity ward the other housed the labour rooms and operation theaters; the general wards were in up-stairs. This building is today the administrative block with consulting rooms and reception downstairs and offices up stairs.The Coimbatore Medical School was started in 1914 in separate buildings in the present Govt. Arts College campus. As per the records in the Archives it was a square building with an open court yard in the centre teak wood doors and panels stone floors brick and mortar walls glazed stone ware sinks and iron trusses. It was built by the Public Works Department of which C O Bruien was the then Chief Engineer at an estimated cost of Rs 5778000. Nanja Boyan the head mason supplied bricks at six annas per hundred!!In 1930 the medical school was shifted to Calicut then part of Madras Presidency and the existing building became the History department of the Government Arts College. The present Medical College was started in 1966.The main hospital had a mortuary built in 1916 and a TB Block in 1937 later shifted to Perundurai. The nursing staff quarters were built in 1934.It is laudable that the striking features of the original building and its fa?ade have been retained. The above information was garnered in 1989-90.Kind courtesy the head quarters hospital. PWD office district records centre at Nanjundapuram and a souvenir published by the CMCSashi Ghulati National Convenor The Indian National Trust for Arts and Cultural Heritage (INTACH)