[2] The history of Dadabhai Naoroji Road could be chronicled to the time when it was a small street in the erstwhile old fort area, more than two hundred years back.

[1][5] The fort was demolished in 1860s by the then Governor Sir Bartle Frere to provide adequate space for the growing civic requirements of the city and the area was substantially re–structured.

What ensued in the nineteenth century was thus a magnificent spectacle of Victorian neo–Gothic, Indo–Sarcenic, neo–classical and Edwardian structures linked together by a continuous ground floor pedestrian arcade along the streetscape.

As the founder of the Indian National Congress and three times its party President, his most notable contribution was to publicly voice the demand for swaraj (Independence of India), in 1906.

The traditional Indian palace architecture is also reflected in its beautiful stone dome, turrets, pointed arches and eccentric ground plan.

[2][4] Mahatma Jyotiba Phule Mandai, also known as Crawford Market, located at the start of the D.N.Road, is a blend of Flemish and Norman architecture with a bas–relief built of coarse Coorla rubble, relieved by bright red stone from Vasai.

But the hectic commercial activities and the large sized signboards in the heritage road (had become a metaphor for urban chaos) caused serious concern to the Mumbai Metropolitan Regional Development Authority and public spirited people of the area.

The striking colonial facades became completely obscured by free for all signages such as billboards, signboards and other forms of advertisement, which left much to be desired.

A local news paper facilitated design, fabrication and installation of the cast iron street furniture along the buildings, in a 100 m (328.1 ft) stretch.

Set up as a non–profit group, the association's objectives are to restore the heritage character of Dr. Dadabhai Naoroji Road through public participation and private sponsorship.

The achievements of the association, since its inception, are: A few individual owners of buildings initiated restoration works which included removal of the air–conditioning units that were incongruent with the colonial façade.

The first of its kind in India, this ambitious streetscape project has revived the historic ambience of Dadabhai Naoroji Road of Mumbai through the restoration of shop fronts, signage and street furniture to reflect the area’s Victorian Era commercial heritage.