Located on the ground floor of Wakefield House, Britannia and Co. was founded (1923) by Rashid Kohinoor, who had emigrated from Iran to Mumbai in search of a better life. His son and Britannia's long-time owner, Boman Kohinoor (1923-2019), was proud of the cafe’s historic link to Britain and its royal family. He called himself the ‘Royal Family’s No.1 fan’.
Neville House is the headquarter of Bombay Dyeing and Co; Manufacturing Company Ltd., the flagship company of the Wadia Group, founded in 1736 by Lovji Nusserwanjee Wadia, considered the founder of the shipbuilding industry in Mumbai. The Bombay dry dock, the first dry dock in Asia, was built by Lovji Wadia and his brother Sorabji Wadia in 1750.
The Grand Hotel has ground-level windows with outward projecting canopies painted in alternating bands of blue and white. Above the windows, bracketed cornice runs all around the building, supporting balconies on the first floor (also on the third-floor level). The second-floor balconies are supported by stone brackets.
Commerce House is located on Currimbhoy Road. The first floor of the Commerce House hosts the contemporary art gallery Galerie Mirchandani + Steinruecke, representing some of the country’s most sought-after painters. The gallery opened in 2006.
Entrance to Marshall Sons and Co. building, at the intersection of Shoorji Vallabhdas Road and Shahid Bhagat Singh Marg. The entrance has a round pediment with two life-size female figures seated in the spandrel. The year of its construction, 1906, is inscribed above the keystone.
The entrance to Darabshaw House is through a semi-circular arched doorway with moldings. Above the entrance, a row of stone brackets supports a balcony that runs around the cornice. Note the bollard on the footpath. Originally, bollards were used for mooring ships to the dock but are now installed to control road traffic.
New Custom House is entered through a semicircular arch with rusticated masonry, which contrasts with the upper levels which use regular ashlar masonry (dressed). Rustication is the deliberate use of rough or patterned surfaces, a technique extensively used by architects during the Edwardian era (1901-1910) and features in many buildings in Ballard Estate.
Port House (Old Bombay Port Trust building), located on Shoorji Vallabhdas Road, is an imposing building constructed in the first phase of the development of Ballard Estate in the 1890s. However, with ever-increasing maritime traffic, in 1911, it was decided that a new custom house be constructed, which was built adjoining the Port House.
Two statues of Britannia stand aloft on either side of the Marshall Sons and Co. building, one facing Shoorji Vallabhdas Road and the other Shahid Bhagat Singh Marg. Britannia holds a trident (symbol of maritime supremacy) and a shield. She is wearing a Corinthian helmet, and seated at her feet is the British Lion. Britannia is a personification of Great Britain, a symbolic figure that first emerged during the Roman occupation of Britain.