Former Oriental Assurance Building - Yangon, Myanmar
Posted by: Groundspeak Premium Member Metro2
N 16° 46.311 E 096° 09.673
47Q E 197363 N 1856480
Now the Indian Embassy.
Waymark Code: WMVJA2
Location: Myanmar
Date Posted: 04/24/2017
Published By:Groundspeak Premium Member bluesnote
Views: 0

Located on Merchant Road in Yangon.
A blue plaque on the building is written in Burmese and English. The English portion reads:


"Former Oriental Assurance Building
1914

Originally built in as the offices of the Calcutta-based insurance firm, Oriental Life Assurance Company, the building has been occupied by the Indian embassy since 1957.

Yangon City Heritage"

A news report about the placement of the marker (visit link) informs us:

"Indian embassy receives blue heritage plaque

By Tin Yadanar Tun | Tuesday, 31 May 2016

The Indian embassy on Yangon’s Merchant Road is the latest historic building to receive a blue plaque from Yangon Heritage Trust.

At a ceremony yesterday, the plaque was installed on one of the tallest structures to be recognised for its historical and architectural features, said YHT communications manager Ma Shwe Yinn Mar Oo.

The five-storey embassy is the 12th building in Yangon to be recognised by YHT.

Build in 1914 to house the offices of a Calcutta-based insurance firm, Oriental Life Assurance, the building has been occupied by the Indian embassy since 1957.

A 1999-2000 renovation left many original signature notes in place, said Ma Shwe Yinn Mar Oo.

U Thant Myint-U, founder and chair of Yangon Heritage Trust, said, “This century-old building is important less because it once housed the Oriental Life Assurance Company than because it has been home to the Embassy of India since the 1950s.

“There are so many places in downtown Yangon that can be regarded as a shared heritage between India and Myanmar, for example places linked to the many visits of Rabindranath Tagore, Mahatma Gandhi and Pandit Nehru in the early 20th century,” he said.

Ambassador Gautam Mukhopadhaya said, “In both India and Myanmar, a rapid construction boom has destroyed many historical and cultural buildings. Many new skyscrapers are emerging in downtown Yangon as old heritage buildings are disappearing. I am very proud that the Indian embassy should be recognised as a Yangon Heritage building.”

YHT blue plaques already decorate 11 other buildings, including City Hall, AYA Bank headquarters beside Sule Pagoda, the Armenian Church, the Central Fire Station, the General Post Office, Myanmar Agricultural Development Bank on Pansodan Street and the Central Press Building."
Blue Plaque managing agency: Yangon City Heritage

Physical Address:
Merchant Road
Yangon, Yangon Myanmar


Individual Recognized: Not listed

Web Address: Not listed

Visit Instructions:
To log an entry for a "Blue Plaque," please try to include a picture of you next to the plaque!
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Metro2 visited Former Oriental Assurance Building  -  Yangon, Myanmar 10/14/2016 Metro2 visited it