Dhaka in the 1870s: What the City Looked Like 150 Years Ago

What did Dhaka look like in the 1870s, around 150 years ago? This episode of Bangladesh Time Capsule explores old Dhaka through archival photographs and traces how nineteenth-century Dhaka began changing into the city we know today. From the Buriganga and its waterways to Bara Katra, the hanging bridge at Sutrapur, Dhaka College, civic infrastructure and Dacca Town Chowk in 1904, these images reveal different layers of Dhaka’s history existing side by side. The bigger question is simple: How did Dhaka begin becoming a modern city? There was no single cause. Geography, trade, infrastructure, institutions and time all shaped the transformation. Bangladesh Time Capsule explores Bangladesh history through old photographs, maps, documents and forgotten stories — connecting the archive with the places and communities we know today. If your parents or grandparents ever told you stories about old Dhaka, or if you recognise something in these photographs that still survives today, share it in the comments. Those memories may preserve details that official records and photographs cannot. Old images. Hidden stories. The making of modern Bangladesh. ARCHIVAL SOURCES & IMAGE CREDITS 1. Street Scene in Dhaka — 1870s Unknown photographer. British Library via Wikimedia Commons. 2. Dhaka River Scenery — 1875 Unknown photographer. Wikimedia Commons. 3. Bara Katra, South View, Dhaka — 1875 Unknown photographer. British Library via Wikimedia Commons. 4. Hanging Bridge at Dhaka — 1870s Unknown photographer. Wikimedia Commons. 5. Old Dhaka College and Old Court Building — 1875 Unknown photographer. British Library via Wikimedia Commons. 6. Dacca Town Chowk — 1904 Fritz Kapp. Curzon Collection, British Library. Shelfmark: Photo 430/31(20). The opening street photograph is reused for the closing slide. The six unique archival images above are listed as public-domain works on their Wikimedia Commons pages. #DhakaHistory #BangladeshHistory #OldDhaka