Lincoln House's Half Century

With a move to a new and larger building on the horizon, the U.S. Consulate General in Mumbai is celebrating this January its 50 years of operations in Lincoln House, a former royal residency built in the art deco style and overlooking the Breach Candy seaface.

The celebration, a cocktail party and dinner co-sponsored by the Indo-American Chamber of Commerce, will look back at a half century of friendship between India and the United States. The party will be held on the lawns where visiting dignitaries have addressed the press, where children used to play between classes at the American School, and where Thanksgiving feasts and receptions, even weddings, have taken place.

In the spirit of celebrating bi-national friendship, the main entertainment will be provided by a duo dancing both American tap and Indian kathak.

For months, the Consulate General has been seeking mementos and memories from the public to share in a photo exhibition, slide show and other chronicles of the history of Lincoln House, as well as key moments and scenes from the past 60 years of Indo-American diplomatic history.

The American Consulate General in Mumbai is located in a building that was originally called Wankaner Palace, built in 1938 by the Maharaja of Wankaner. After it was sold to the U.S. government, the consulate staff moved in and operations began in 1958. Yuvraj Digvijay Sinh, the grandson of the maharaja, who lives in the family palace at Rajkot in Gujarat, has been invited as an honored guest for the celebrations.

The building at 78, Bhulabhai Desai Road serves as the home of U.S. Consul General Michael S. Owen and his family, as well as the American diplomatic presence in Mumbai, providing visa services and hosting economic, political and other interactions between Americans and Indians in western and central India.

The American Library, the Public Affairs Office, the U.S. Commercial Service and the U.S. Educational Foundation in India are in the separate American Center in the Sundeep Building at 4, New Marine Lines, in the commercial heart of Mumbai.

-L.K.L. and C.D.B.


For more information:
U.S. Consulate General in Mumbai
http://mumbai.usconsulate.gov/
http://mumbai.usconsulate.gov/consanniversary.html

Telephone inquiries:
U.S. Consulate General: (022) 2363-3611
American Center: (022) 2262-4590

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Courtesy: SPAN Magazine