George Town Heritage Streets

George Town Heritage Streets is the historic core of Chennai, Tamil Nadu, located north of Fort St George. Established in 1640 as Black Town alongside the British settlement, it comprises dense grid of streets such as Armenian Street, Mint Street and Broadway. Notable for colonial-era buildings, wholesale markets, and diverse community institutions, it preserves Chennai's earliest urban fabric and remains a busy commercial and heritage precinct.

Visitors can expect a dense network of narrow, bustling streets lined with colonial-era buildings, wholesale markets, warehouses, and historic community institutions. The area includes Armenian Street, Mint Street, Broadway and Parry's Corner with landmarks such as the Armenian Church (1772), historic Jain temples, mosques and churches. The setting is highly urban and commercial, with heavy pedestrian and vehicular traffic, street vendors, and traditional shops. Exploration is typically on foot as part of a heritage walk.

George Town was founded in 1640 as Black Town to house Indian artisans, merchants and workers serving the adjacent British settlement of Fort St George, the first British fort in India. Laid out in a grid pattern, it became the commercial nucleus of Madras. It housed Armenian, Gujarati, Marwari and other merchant communities and contains structures from the 18th and 19th centuries, including the Armenian Church (1772) and early colonial commercial buildings.

The precinct reflects Chennai's multicultural mercantile heritage with coexisting Hindu temples, Jain temples, mosques, churches and the Armenian Church. It remains a major wholesale trading hub for textiles, jewellery, stationery and spices, preserving traditional business communities and street-level commercial culture that has continued since the colonial period.