I visited this WHS in November 2016. The aerial view of the Oval Maidan from the plane in a way reminded me of Central Park in New York City - a lovely green area surrounded by urban buildings and heavy traffic.

My initial impression was confirmed later on when we caught a taxi a drove through Marina Drive and close to Oval Maidan. The traffic in these areas is incredible not to mention the several high rise buildings everywhere. I remember clearly though that there were several Art Deco buildings along Marina Drive that stood out among the rest of the concrete jungle even though most of them could use a lick of paint. The most central and striking of the lot was the Soona Mahal with its round turret (top right photo - towards the centre). This building was chosen as the most iconic Art Deco building in Mumbai's WHS nomination posters. The Marina Drive (bottom left photo), nicknamed Mumbai's Corniche, offers a pleasant walk and a good opportunity to take in the Art Deco buildings in this WHS. The nomination maps on UNESCO's official website list all the inscribed buildings.

My favourite part of this WHS though is definitely the Victorian Gothic ensemble around the Oval Maidan. If truth be told it is more of a continuation of the same style as Mumbai's Victoria Terminus and Municipal Corporation Building. The only worthwhile difference is that you can enjoy some fine cricket along the way. It is impressive that parts of this area have remained the same for years. This can be seen if you compare Ian Cade's colour photo with one of UNESCO's black and white photos of the Oval Maidan with cricket players and the Western Railway Headquarters in the background. The most iconic Neo-Gothic buildings of this WHS in my opinion are the High Court (top left photo) and the Rajabai Clock Tower (bottom right photo) and Convocation Hall which I spotted again when coming back by boat from Elephanta Island.

Even though I earned another tick on the WH list, I don't think that this is one of the best WHS and I don't believe it provides any OUV. It will definitely pave the way for Delhi's tentative WHS in the near future though.