5/5 Shashika N. 1 year ago on Google
Galle
Face
is
a
5
ha
(12
acres)
ocean-side
urban
park,
which
stretches
for
500
m
(1,600
ft)
along
the
coast,
in
the
heart
of
Colombo,
the
financial
and
business
capital
of
Sri
Lanka.
The
promenade
was
initially
laid
out
in
1859
by
Governor
Sir
Henry
George
Ward,
although
the
original
Galle
Face
Green
extended
over
a
much
larger
area
than
is
seen
today.
The
Galle
Face
Green
was
initially
used
for
horse
racing
and
as
a
golf
course,
but
was
also
used
for
cricket,
polo,
football,
tennis
and
rugby.
Galle
Face
Green
originally
extended
over
a
much
larger
area
than
exists
today.
Records
indicate
that
it
was
bounded
to
the
north
by
Beira
Lake,
the
ramparts
of
Colombo
Fort
and
the
city's
cemetery
(established
in
1803),
to
the
west
by
the
Indian
Ocean,
whilst
to
the
south
by
the
Galle
Face
Hotel
(established
in
1864,
although
the
original
building
on
the
site
was
a
Dutch
villa)
and
to
the
east
by
St
Peter's
Church
(consecrated
in
1821).
The
Galle
Face
Green
was
initially
laid
out
by
the
Dutch
as
a
means
to
enable
their
cannons
a
strategic
line
of
fire
against
the
Portuguese.
One
version
of
how
the
name
Galle
Face
is
derived,
is
that
it
is
from
the
original
Dutch
name
for
the
fortifications,
in
that
the
gateway
which
gave
access
to
the
Colombo
Fort
was
called
the
Gal
Gate,
as
it
faced
southwards
to
Galle
and
faas
means
front,
so
it
literally
means
in
front
of
the
fortification
that
faced
toward
Galle.
Another
version
is
it
is
a
corruption
of
the
original
name
for
the
area's
rocky
shoreline,
Gal
Bokka,
Gal
being
the
Sinhalese
for
rock
and
that
Gal
Gate
actually
meant
rock
gate.
In
1856
the
then
Governor
of
British
Ceylon,
Sir
Henry
George
Ward
(1797β1860)
authorised
the
construction
of
a
1
mile
(1.6
km)
promenade
along
the
oceanside
of
the
Galle
Face
Green,
for
ladies
and
children
to
saunter
and
βtake
in
the
airβ.
The
promenade
was
subsequently
completed
in
1859.
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