Albert Hall, Jaipur

Albert Hall is situated in the expansive Ram Niwas Garden in the city of Jaipur. The foundation stone for Albert Hall was laid during the visit of King Edward VII (Albert Edward) to the city as the Prince of Wales on February 6, 1876. The Albert Hall was completed in 1887 during the reign of Maharaja Sawai Madho Singh II. It was designed by the English architect Sir Samuel Swinton Jacob, who was active in India in the later part of the nineteenth century and designed numerous buildings in India in the Indo-Saracenic architectural style. The earlier ruler, Maharaja Ram Singh II had thought making it a town hall. But, with passage of time the idea of a museum caught on and Maharaja Sawai Madho Singh II decided that Albert Hall would be a museum, displaying the craftsmanship of local artisans and also that of craftsmen around the world.

Albert Hall houses the Central Museum, which has numerous pieces of art. So it is fitting that the building itself be a piece of fine art, an architectural marvel. And an architectural masterpiece it is, a beautiful building set in the extensive Ram Niwas Garden. The building has four watch towers, one at each of the four corners. The floors reduce in size as we go upwards, somewhat suggesting a tapering or a pyramidal shape. There are beautiful domes at the top, for the main building as well as the watch towers. The theme of the building is domes, arches and railings. There are arches at all entrances and there are beautiful railings at all floors and also at the watch towers.