Stock Photo - Victoria memorial hall is an elegant, domed white marble edifice in Kolkata (Calcutta), West Bengal, India, then ruled by the British. On the death of Queen Victoria in January 1901, Lord Curzon, who was then Viceroy of India, mooted the idea of setting up a fitting memorial to the Queen. He suggested that the most suitable memorial would be a stately, spacious, monumental and grand building surrounded by an exquisite garden. The princes and people of India responded generously to his appeal for funds and the total cost of construction of this monument amounting to one crore, five lakhs of rupees, was entirely derived from their voluntary subscriptions. Sir William Emerson, President of the British Institute of Architects, designed this building, and was constructed by Messrs. Martin & Co. of Calcutta. Vincent J. Esch was the superintending architect. The foundation stone was laid by King George V, then the Prince of Wales, on 4 January, 1906 and the building was formally opened to the public in 1921.