Vivekananda Illam
Vivekananda Illam
Vivekananda Illam is originally called Ice House, this landmark was re-christened Vivekananda Illam in 1963. This was in remembrance of Swami Vivekananda’s brief sojourn here. It has been renovated recently, with a statue of Swami Vivekananda installed. r. Frederic Tudor, the ‘Ice King’, built three houses in Kolkata , Mumbai and Chennai to keep ice under proper insulation so that it could be stored for months together. Amongst the three buildings the one at Chennai alone stands today. It was built in the year 1842. Tudor maintained his business in Chennai from 1842 up to around 1880. After the invention of making ice by ’steam process’ in India, his business collapsed. Then the Ice House was sold to Mr.Biligiri Iyengar, a prosperous advocate of the Madras High Court. He remodeled the house adding circular verandahs and provided it with many windows to make it fit as residential quarters.
