The foundation stone for the BMC building was laid on December 19,1884, by the Viceroy, the Marquis of Ripon. The commemorative plaque can be seen inside the BMC building at the entrance lobby. However, work on the site started five years later, on April 25, 1889. After four years of construction, BMC building was finally completed on July 31, 1893.
Frederick W. Stevens designed the CSMT and BMC buildings within a decade of each other. As a result, both buildings have common features, design elements and building materials. Stevens described his building style as ‘...a free treatment of early Gothic with an Oriental feeling, which, I consider, the best adapted for the site the buildings are to occupy.’
Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC), also known as Municipal Corporation of Greater Mumbai or Bombay Municipal Corporation, is India's richest municipal corporation and responsible for developing and maintaining the civic infrastructure of the city and tax collection. It was established with the passing of the Bombay Municipal Corporation Act in 1888. The headquarters are based at the BMC building which also feature (along with the Gateway of India) on the seal of the corporation.
Frederick W. Stevens used allegorical figures to represent concepts like progress and prosperity. This, for example, is a Christian motif of a winged angel holding up a miniature ship to highlight Mumbai's association with maritime trade. The allegoric figure represented is urbs primus in Indis (Latin for the ‘primary urban city of India’), which was adapted as the motto of the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation.
The coat-of-arms of the Brihanmumbai Mahanagarpalika (Municipal Corporation of Greater Mumbai) is prominently displayed on the facade of the BMC building. It is a four-panel shield surmounted by a heraldic lion and a blooming lotus at the base. The Sanskrit motto यतो धर्मस्ततो जय: Yato Dharmas Tato Jayaḥ (Where there is Righteousness, there shall be Victory) is inscribed in gold at the bottom.
Frederick W. Stevens was primarily influenced by Gothic architecture, and it is in Gothic that most of his projects were executed. Within the Gothic genre, Stevens had a particular liking for Venetian Gothic, which originated in Italy in the twelfth century. Inspired from Venetian Gothic, Stevens used stained-glass windows extensively throughout the BMC building.
Detail of brackets inside the BMC building. These were inspired from Hindu temple architecture. The amalgamation of Hindu and Islamic architectural details with the overall Gothic style was a delicate and gradual process which Frederick Stevens successfully managed to balance, thereby guaranteeing his pre-eminence in this style during the zenith of Bombay Gothic architecture.
A prominent member of the Parsi community in Bombay, Sir Pherozeshah Mehta drafted the Bombay Municipal Act of 1872 and is thus considered 'Father of Bombay Municipality'. He became municipal commissioner of Bombay Municipality in 1873 and its president four times—1884, 1885, 1905 and 1911. A statue of Sir Pherozeshah Mehta was installed in front of the BMC building in honor of his role in the establishment of the municipality.
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.