Cubbon Park – History

Cubbon Park was laid out in 1870 soon after the completion of Attara Kacheri, the present high court building. The original area of the Park was 100 acres in 1870. It was increased in the later years and stood at around 260 acres by the 1950s. Currently, Cubbon Park has an area of 197 acres 31.50 guntas.

The park was designed and laid out by Major Gen. Richard Heiram Sankey, a royal engineer under the British rule. Initially, a terrace garden was developed in an area of 20 acres and subsequently the other areas were developed. An ornamental parapet wall along the frontage of Attara Kacheri towards western side of the garden was built. The Statue of Sir Mark Cubbon stands facing the grand steps leading to the terrace garden. The statue is in line with the Museum, which was the entrance building to the Cubbon Park as well to the Government House – Attara Kacheri.

The park is purely a public park. It is favorably located, has open lawns, well kept roads, walking paths and shady playgrounds. The park with its natural undulated ground, slope, water bodies and rocks can afford beautiful and picturesque landscape. The park has innumerable architectural embellishments. A wide avenue connects the parterre (an ornamental garden with paths between the beds) with the Government Museum, which is an imposing building. In between there is a magnificent band stand, where in earlier military bands were played till 1947, the year of India’s independence. During those days around band stand the visitors would sit on the ornamental benches and watch and enjoy the music played. The music programmes in the band stand have now been revived.

The park comes under the Central Administrative Area (CAA) of the Government, which includes the Vidhana Soudha Garden, Cubbon Park, Queen’s Park, Children Park, Bamboo Groves and the Legislature Home Garden. The park was designed by R.H. Sankey in such a way that all the important structures come in a straight line measuring about a kilo meter length. Even when Vidhana soudha was built, care was taken to bring it in the same straight line. The Kengal Hanumantaiah statue, the Speaker’s chair in the Assembly Hall, the Chief Justice seat in the High Court, the Cubbon statue, the Band Stand, the Fountain, the Ornamental Urn (presented by Sankey) and the Government Museum are all in the same straight line. Hence it is a unique park designed based on a master plan in the whole of the Karnataka state in particular, and India in general.

The park was developed during the regime of John Meade, Commissioner of Mysore State from 1868 to 1872. Initially the park was called Meade’s Park but on his initiation the park was officially named as “Cubbon Park” in 1873. But later in 1948, On July 26th the park was renamed in honour of Late Maharaja Sri Chamarajarendra Wadeyar as “Sri Chamarajendra Park”, but the public prefer to call it Cubbon Park.