kolkata the faade of one of the most architecturally striking raj buildings in dalhousie square has been restored after nearly halfacentury of neglect an earlier attempt to restore the building had failed owing to legal hurdles the victorianera exposed red brick standard life assurance building opposite telephone bhawan stands out for its multidomed tower stucco artwork and ornamental figurines designed by the venerable fredrick w stevens of mumbais victoria terminus now cst fame the building was constructed between february 1894 and may 1896 and served as the office of standard life assurance originally established as life insurance company of scotland in edinburgh in 1825 its name was changed to standard life assurance by royal assent before it british insurance firms were reluctant to allow policy holders to travel to colonies due to very high mortality rate situated at the corner of red cross place and bbd bag southhare street the building has twin addresses one for each wing that are joined by two bridges across vansittart row the arched gateways are among the several unique features of the building the gateway facing bbd bag south has a triangular pediment at the top and figures of a young lady carrying a lamp and a grim reaper carrying a skull to its left and right representing life and death its multidome tower is another there are beautiful figures in triangular pediment in the upper windows with cherubs holding musical instruments the building also features the logo of standard life based on the biblical parable of ten virgins the edinburgh head office of standard life investments formerly standard life assurance also has the virgins on its pediment the standard assurance building is one of the most exquisite buildings in kolkata and stands out even in the architecturally rich dalhousie square heritage zone every time i passed the building i would look at the statuary and ornamentation with awe there is no other commercial building in the city with such fine embellishment and architectural detailing said g m kapur of indian national trust for art and cultural heritage intach that has been documenting heritage buildings and promoting their restoration in 2005 the world monument fund had offered a grant of 75000 for the buildings restoration but work could not take off as the ownership was under litigation eventually the money was spent in restoring the exterior of st johns church the ownership of the building is disputed and hence it is under a receiver hence while all the buildings that face lal dighi had been restored in the past decade or so the standard building continued to decay when the directorate of the youth welfare a tenant in the building wanted the roof seepage to be repaired and the interiors refurbished we gained an entry and were appalled at the neglect the roof appeared to be on the verge of collapse with roots of wild trees that had come up along the cupola piercing through the roof and into the rooms below recounted pwd