| Prakasam Road | |
 A section of the street in 2007 | |
 Interactive map of Broadway | |
| Maintained by | Corporation of Chennai |
|---|---|
| Length | 1.05 mi (1.69 km) |
| Coordinates | 13°05′59″N80°17′12″E / 13.09965°N 80.286613°E /13.09965; 80.286613 |
| South end | China Bazaar Road,George Town,Chennai |
| North end | Old Jail Road/Ibrahim Sahib Street,Chennai |
| Construction | |
| Inauguration | = Late 18th century |
Broadway (officially known asPrakasam Salai, after the freedom fighterT. Prakasam) is one of the historical thoroughfares of the commercial centre ofGeorge Town inChennai, India. The road runs north–south connectingChina Bazaar Road in the south with Ibrahim Sahib Street (Old Jail Road) in the north. The road divides George Town into Muthialpet and Peddanaickenpet.
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Up until the 16th century, the road and the surrounding region, being near the coast, had many sand ridges. As the sea level rose, it inundated these regions, where several lagoons and ridges were left behind when the sea withdrew. The sandy ridges remained places of safety, where settlements were established. Several valleys ran around the ridges, which rose up to about 12 feet in height. Some of these valleys served as drainage channels. Until the late 18th century, the area on which the present day's road lies remained one such unwanted drainage channel,[2] known then as Atta Pallam. Much of the area was owned byStephen Popham, a former BritishMP and later the advocate general inCalcutta, who moved to Madras in 1778. He is credited with establishing a modern police force in the city in 1782.[3][4]
The area where theGeneral Hospital, Madras United Club and thePark Town post office stand today was then a hill known locally as Narimedu (literally 'mound of foxes'), which was named 'Hoggs Hill' by the British. When the British considered it as a security threat toFort St. George and decided to level the area, Popham negotiated with them to buy the earth removed from the hill to fill the ditch,[3] and a road was laid on it in 1782.[5] The thoroughfare thus created came to be known as 'Popham's Broadway'.[3]
By the 1890s, the road became known for two food establishments, the first of which was that of P. Venkatachellum, whose condiments and chutneys were popular in England. He is credited with the creation ofmulligatawny soup from the local recipe ofmilagu rasam (milagu thanni). The other restaurant was Harrison's, established in 1891, which today is a contemporary hotel inNungambakkam.[3]
The road was also home to the city's first private hospital run in the 1900s by physician T. A. Sankaranarayanan,[3] decades before the advent of theApollo Hospitals, the country's first modern corporate hospital, established in 1983.
Today, the road has morphed into one of the most important commercial streets of George Town. Several commercial establishments, especially those of opticians, have their shops on this street.[3] TheBroadway bus terminus, the largest bus terminus of theChennai Metropolitan Transport Corporation, is located on the southern end of the road.
The road also houses the Mannadi Metro Rail station of theChennai Metro Rail.
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