Empress Court,132 Maharshi Karve Road, Churchgate. The Mehta family bought the property in 1960 from a Parsi family. Currently, Empress Court serves as the residence of the fourth generation of the Mehta family.
Detail of zigzag glass panel running along the central staircase, Empress Court. The tower is symmetrically framed by rounded balconies on either side.
Court View, 126 Maharshi Karve Road, Churchgate. Court View was named after the Bombay High Court which is visible across the Oval Maidan. Architects Maneckji Dalal and Merwanji Bana & Co. designed Court View with additional designs by Gajanan Babu Mhatre, who was brought on as consultant at the later stages.
Rama Mandir was originally built by an ascetic, Ramdas Bawa. In 1918, it was reconstructed by a Khatri merchant, Bhawanai Mohanji, and a shikara was added over the garbagriha. Marble idols of Lord Ram, Lakshman, and Sita from the original temple are enshrined in the garbagriha. The pujari family who maintains the temple, live at the rear.
A distinct material culture at Banganga Tank is the popularity of bathroom tiles for decor and restoration purposes. The tiles are used not only for floors, the purpose for which they are designed but also on walls and the interior of garbagrihas in temples. This shrine below a banyan tree in front of Walkeshwar Temple has been restored using bathroom tiles.
In front of Walkeshwar Temple is the Onkareshwar Mahadeo Temple, commissioned by Mathuradas Dwarkadas. This temple has a squat deepstambha adjoining it. The temple is dedicated to Lord Shiva, represented by a stone lingam that is fabled to be swayambhu (self-manifesting). Next to the temple stands an old banyan tree.