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UNESCO’s adviser, International Council of Monuments and Sites (ICOMOS), had recommended the tag for the architecture district, according to a report. In its evaluation, the council said two waves of urban development in the 19th and 20th centuries transformed Mumbai from a fortified trading outpost to the first city of India. 

“ICOMOS acknowledges the significance of the ensemble of the Victorian Gothic institutional buildings and the ensemble of the Art Deco residential, Mumbai, each in their own right,” it said. ICOMOS noted the unique character of the architecture. “Both the Victorian Gothic and the Art Deco ensembles exhibit an important exchange of European and Indian human values over a span of time. The Victorian assemblage of grand public buildings created an Indo-Gothic style by blending Gothic revival elements with Indian elements…,” it said. 

“Mumbai’s Art Deco buildings of iconic cinema halls and apartment buildings blended Indian design with Art Deco imagery and created a unique style that became known as Indo-Deco. Its influence spread through the Indian sub-continent.” 

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