The Story Behind The 14 Floors
After reading The Unfinished Journey, I got to know a bit of history about Chennai’s original skyscraper. M Ct Chidambaram, the founder of IOB and United India Insurance had wanted to build an impressive premises for his group’s headquarters and had identified the location to construct an 18-storey building on the lines of the then famous UN building in New York. The building (which later became the LIC building) took shape during M Ct's time. Since M Ct passed away during this period and insurance was also nationalized (1956), the building’s construction went into the hands of the government (LIC) and babudom curtailed the height of the building to 14 floors. The building was finally unveiled in the year 1959. 
BTW, which the tallest (residential / commercial) building in Chennai now? Is it Hotel Residency Towers (which has about 20 floors) or Arihant Narayanas Ocean Tower by any chance?
posted by Kaps at
3:00 PM
6 Comments:
I think it's the arihant at koyambedu, opp the CMBT
By
Anonymous, at 10:09 PM
Interesting story. The LIC and 14 floors remind me of the S.V.Shekar joke in " Kaatla Mazhai" !
By
Cogito, at 10:11 PM
still remember the days when LIC pretty much identified madras. was shown in all the movies and it was a tourist attraction for visitors. and my mom worked in the building right next to it :) interesting trivia...
By
Balaji, at 4:18 AM
Interesting fact indeed. Didn't know about this.
Now - Chennai and most part of India have been finally declared as prone to earthquakes. Are the new buildings constructed to withstand an earthquake? I am scared! Are there any building codes in place now.
By
Narayanan Venkitu, at 7:31 AM
Quite a name for a blog!
@ Cogito - whats the joke in Kaatla Mazhai? Can you explain? :-)
By
Ram Iyer, at 10:19 PM
The TVH Lumbini Square residential tower blocks are now the tallest in Chennai city.
By
Anonymous, at 12:53 PM
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