The roughly one-kilometre-long Eldams Road, connecting Anna Salai and Mowbray’s Road, is one of the oldest roads in Chennai. According to the Vestiges of Old Madras, written by Henry Davison Love, the road was laid 207 years ago in 1816 and named after Richard Yeldham, who served as the Mayor of Madras in 1801.
Along with the change in its name from Yeldham’s to Eldams, the road has transformed in the past several decades from one with many bungalows into a mix of commercial and residential area. Among the few buildings that stand testimony to its past is the C.P. Ramaswami Aiyar Foundation at one end, with the address of No. 1, Eldams Road.
This side of the road is wide with old trees lining up both sides and relatively upmarket residential and commercial complexes. But the road gradually narrows towards Anna Salai. This end of the road is predominantly a lower and middle-income neighbourhood, which is congested.
