Mint Street, Chennai
| Maintained by | Corporation of Chennai |
|---|---|
| Length | 1.6 mi (2.6 km) |
| Coordinates | 13°5′2″N 80°16′41″E / 13.08389°N 80.27806°ECoordinates: 13°5′2″N 80°16′41″E / 13.08389°N 80.27806°E |
| North end | North Wall Road–Old Jail Road Junction, Washermanpet, Chennai |
| South end | Poonamallee High Road, Park Town, Chennai |
Mint Street is one of the prime streets of the commercial centre of George Town in Chennai, India. The street is one of the oldest streets in Chennai and is believed to be the longest street in the city. Running north–south, the street connects Poonamallee High Road at Park Town in the south with North Wall Road–Old Jail Road Junction at Washermanpet in the north. Running parallel to the Wall Tax Road, another historical thoroughfare in the city, the street passes through thickly populated residential and commercial areas of the historical neighbourhood.
In the 17th century, a Jewish cemetery was established on the street by a Portuguese Jewish trader, Jacques de Paivia. It was later moved to Lloyd's Road and became the Lloyd's Road Jewish Cemetery.
In the early 18th century, washers and bleachers employed by the British East India Company for its cloth business settled around the street, given it the name 'Washers' Street'. Several of them were Telugu speaking, followed by the middlemen or dubashes (men who knew two languages), chiefly Telugu-speaking Komutti and Beri Chetties. By the 1740s, Gujarathis and people from the Saurashtra region closely associated with the cloth trade settled down in the area to the west of the street. Soon, the area also became home to Marwaris, who were chiefly pawn brokers and money lenders. Mint Street thus became a confluence of various language speakers, which has remained so till date.
In 1841–1842, the East India Company moved its coin-making facility to this street, and since then the street became known as Mint Street. Later the mint was converted as the Government Press, which still functions. Next to the Press stood Crown Talkies, one of the city's earliest cinema theatres built by a photographer named Ragupathy Venkaiah, who also built other theatres such as Gaiety and Globe in various parts of the city. The street also housed Muragan Theatre, where Kalidasa, the first Tamil talkie, was released.
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