During the British colonial era from 1700 to 1912 Kolkata was the capital of British India. Kolkata witnessed a spate of frenzied construction activity in the early 1850s by several British companies. The construction was largely influenced by the conscious intermingling of Neo-Gothic, Baroque, Neo-Classical, and Oriental designs. Unlike many north Indian cities, whose construction stresses minimalism, much of the layout of the architectural variety in Kolkata owes its origins from European styles and tastes imported mainly by the British, and lesser extent of the Portuguese and French.

Kolkata (also known as Calcutta) is currently the third-most populous metropolitan city in India after Delhi and Mumbai.

Today, many of these structures are in various stages of decay. Some of the major buildings of this period are well maintained and several buildings have been declared as heritage structures. Conservation efforts are patchy and are often affected by problems of litigation, tenant troubles, ownership disputes, old tenancy laws and a lack of funds.

Victoria Memorial was built in the heart of the City of Joy, Kolkata to commemorate the Empress of India and Queen of the United Kingdom, Queen Victoria after her death in 1901. The Victoria Memorial was modelled on the Taj Mahal and was commissioned in 1906 by Lord Curzon's brainchild. Opened to the public in 1921, it was designed by the architects William Emerson and his protege Vincent Esch at the extraordinary cost of Rupees 10.5 million ($262,500), all of which was collected as voluntary donations, mostly from the British and Indian nobility. The memorial holds numerous paintings of the British royal family, miniature paintings of the Mughal School, oil paintings of the Company School (notably the uncle - nephew pair of Thomas Daniell and William Daniell), historical artefacts like the throne of the Nawab of Bengal, many lithographs and documents of historical interest, and various post-Raj artefacts significant in the history of Kolkata (added to the collection after independence).