See location map of Freedom Park at the end of this post.
Freedom Park is a large open space in the heart of Bangalore, at Sheshadri Road. This place once functioned as the ‘central jail.’ After the prison was shifted outside the city, the then government had the goodwill to convert it into a park instead of coming up with more buildings in the area.
The design of the park was chosen through a national level competition. A plaque installed in the park says more about the history of the prison and the establishment of the park:
The Central Jail
The first war of Indian Independence gave a new thrust to the freedom movement in India. Many Indians joined the movement and the British, to curb the movement, began sending more and more freedom fighters to prisons. As a result, the British needed more and more jails to accommodate the rising number of self sacrificing freedom fighters. The Bangalore Central Jail was constructed against this background in 1866. It occupied a site of approximately 21 acres. The Jail has housed many illustrious leaders who fought for the freedom of our nation and for restoration of democracy during the emergency regime post independence. The Jail compound included a watchtower in the center, barracks and other buildings like the hospital, workshops, etc.
Freedom Park
The design of the park was selected through a national level competition initiated by BBMP. Architect couple Soumitro Ghosh and Nisha Mathew Ghosh won the competition and the park has been developed based on their design on a budget of Rs.17.35 crores.
The main objective of the park is to create green cover and lung space in the heart of the city without diluting the historical significance of the location. As a result, a beautiful multi-use urban park with a state-of-the-art information corridor, cultural and leisure joints, children’s play areas, light and sound shows etc. has come up on the sprawling 15-acre area of the erstwhile central jail of Bangalore. A dedicated space for holding protests and rallies, on the lines of Hyde Park in London, was proposed on an area of 6 acres as a solution to the traffic concerns that protests and rallies in the city center trigger. The most beautiful aspect of the park is the vision of architects in creating volumes of space using light while providing all necessary amenities to the public.
Commissioner, BBMP
The park has plenty of open space with lush grass and a walk way along the park walls. Inside, the watch tower of the prison is the major landmark visible from nearly everywhere. The architects have kept the barracks unchanged except adding some finer touches. The prison cells too have been left unchanged, but the passage to the cells is kept locked and inaccessible. There is an amphitheater next to the barracks. A canteen is work in progress.
Entrance to Freedom Park
To the left of the entrance is the old central jail building.
The watch tower at the center of the park
The barracks
Insides of the park.
Location map of Freedom Park.
View Freedom Park, Bangalore in a larger map
Prints of all the images available. Request for prints.
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Fourth photo – one of the most common scene from old Kannada movies
@Prashanth, lol.. yes