The Civil Lines is a historical residential area and one of the three subdivisions of the Central Delhi district in India.

The Civil Lines were designated for senior British civilian officers, while the military quarters were located in a separate area, reflecting the colonial administration's need for organised spaces for different functions.

This building was central to the administration and governance of the then-nascent imperial possessions of the British Empire in India, housing the offices of nineteen British Governor Generals (Viceroys) from Charles Hardinge to Lord Irwin, who governed from the Old Secretariat on Alipore Road.

The Viceroy's House, now called the Rashtrapati Bhawan, became the official residence of India's presidents in the republican era.

[4] A children's home run by Mother Teresa's Missionaries of Charity lies north of the 18th century Mughal-era Qudsia Bagh in Civil Lines.