Wender·Vista
Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj Terminus
shown on ceramic, 12-inch tileIndia
in the Fort district of South Mumbai

Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj Terminus

— the cathedral that runs trains.

— Where it lives

Not only on a wall.

A small tile on the nightstand catching the morning. A larger one above the fire. Yours, wherever you spend the slow hours.
— On the nightstand, a 6-inch on a walnut stand
— Among the books, a 6-inch leaning into the spines
— Beside the kettle, a 12-inch propped
— Down a quiet hall, an 18-inch floating off the wall
— Above the fire, the 24-inch in a walnut surround
— a note from the studio

“A Victorian Gothic cathedral that happens to dispatch trains. F.W. Stevens drew it in 1878, ten years of carving and stained glass followed, and it opened in 1887 as Victoria Terminus. The pointed arches, the gargoyles, the great central dome with the figure of Progress on top, all of it sits in the Fort district, swallowing roughly three million commuters every working day.

from the studio
Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj Terminus
— bring it home

Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj Terminus, on ceramic.

Each tile is finished by hand in our Knoxville studio. Artwork is slowly infused into the ceramic surface under high heat and pressure, and rests beneath a thin glossy finish. The colour lives in the surface, not on top of it.

What kind of piece?
One tile — square or rectangle.
How big?
the popular one — counter, shelf, nightstand
6 × 6 in · 15 cm · 1.6 lb
Surface finish
A clear glossy finish — the artwork reads as if under resin. Ideal for show-pieces and framed wall art.
How it sits
A hidden cleat — sits ¼″ proud of the wall.
$58
Hand-finished and shipped from our studio at the foot of the Smokies. On your wall in about ten days.
— size
6 × 6 in
15 cm
— weighs
1.6 lb
solid in the hand
— surface
ceramic, hand-finished
art rests beneath a thin glossy finish
— from
Knoxville, TN
our family studio, at the foot of the Smokies
— start a Coaster Set

Pick any four 4-inch tiles — National Parks you've been to, a Smokies set, the four seasons of one place. $ for a set of , cork-backed, ready to live on the table.

— about Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj Terminus

The place, in three passes.

A little of what's known, in case you fall down the rabbit hole — or want to go see it yourself.
— the place

Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj Terminus stands at the southern end of the Fort district of Mumbai, opposite the Bombay Municipal Corporation building. The architect Frederick William Stevens fused High Victorian Gothic with traditional Indian palace motifs, breaking ground in 1878 and finishing the headhouse in 1887. The station was renamed in 1996 to honour the seventeenth-century Maratha emperor Shivaji Bhonsle, with the Maharaj honorific added in 2017. UNESCO inscribed it on the World Heritage List in 2004, citing it as the finest Victorian Gothic Revival building in India and a landmark of cultural exchange.

— the stone

The exterior carries yellow Malad sandstone, blue basalt, and Italian marble, carved by students of the Sir Jamsetjee Jejeebhoy School of Art under Stevens's direction. The colonnades hold tympanums of peacocks, monkeys, and lions, alongside medallions of the British company directors of the day. The central dome rises about thirty-three metres above the booking hall, crowned by a fourteen-foot female figure representing Progress with a torch and a spoked wheel. The carving programme alone took nearly a decade to complete.

— the visit

The terminus is a working suburban hub of Central Railway and is open at all hours. The exterior is best seen from across D.N. Road in the early morning, before the commuter peak. The heritage gallery on the first floor of the main building keeps daytime hours and a small entry fee. Guided heritage walks run on weekends from the Kala Ghoda end of the Fort and connect the station with the Bombay High Court and the David Sassoon Library, all within a fifteen-minute walk.

— where
India · Mumbai, Maharashtra
— elevation
10 m · 33 ft
— position
18.9402° N · 72.8356° E
— the neighborhood

What's nearby.

A handful of named places within an hour's walk or short drive. Some we've already painted; some we will.
1 km S
Kala Ghoda
art precinct
1 km N
Crawford Market
Victorian market hall
1 km SW
Bombay High Court
Gothic courthouse
2 km S
Gateway of India
monument
1 km S
Asiatic Society Library
neoclassical library
N
Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj Terminus
Kala Ghoda
Crawford Market
Bombay High Court
Gateway of India
Asiatic Society Library
— common questions

What people ask.

A few questions we get about Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj Terminus — and about bringing the piece home.
— about the place

The Government of Maharashtra renamed it in 1996 to honour Shivaji Bhonsle, the seventeenth-century founder of the Maratha Empire. The Maharaj honorific was added in 2017. Most residents still call it VT or CST.

The British architect Frederick William Stevens drew the plans in 1878, blending High Victorian Gothic with Indo-Saracenic motifs. Carvers from the Sir Jamsetjee Jejeebhoy School of Art executed the stonework in yellow Malad sandstone and basalt.

Yes. UNESCO inscribed CSMT in 2004 as the finest example of Victorian Gothic Revival architecture in India, citing the fusion of British engineering with traditional Indian palatial motifs.

CSMT serves roughly three million commuters every working day on the Central Railway suburban network, alongside long-distance trains to most of central and southern India. It is among the busiest stations in the country.

A fourteen-foot allegorical figure of Progress, holding a torch in her right hand and a spoked wheel in her left. The dome itself rises about thirty-three metres above the booking hall.

CSMT stands at the southern end of the Fort district in South Mumbai, opposite the Bombay Municipal Corporation headquarters and a short walk from Kala Ghoda, the Bombay High Court, and the Asiatic Society Library.

— about the piece in your home

It carries well for anyone with ties to the city. CSMT is the building Mumbaikars pass through every working morning; the piece names that daily ground without nostalgia. A Medium or Large reads well in a hallway.

The stained-glass treatment suits Indo-Colonial, Library Traditional, and Jewel-tone Maximalist rooms. Teak, brass, and deep saffron upholstery carry the palette. The work also lifts a quieter Modern Indian study with a single deep accent wall.

Above a standard sofa, a Large is the usual anchor. For a tall hallway or stairwell, a four-tile Mural reads as a panel. A Medium fits a console; a Coaster Set carries the same eye on a desk.

Yes. Order the Dura Satin or Matte finish where the tile meets steam or splash. The colour is slowly infused into the ceramic surface under high heat and pressure, so moisture and heat do not lift the image.

A soft microfibre cloth and water. No solvents, no abrasive pads, no glass cleaner. The thin glossy finish keeps the surface smooth and lifts most household residue with a single pass.

Yes. Reid Wender paints every WenderVista piece in the studio's stained-glass and alcohol-ink language. Nothing is licensed; each place enters the atlas once and the work is finished in the Knoxville studio.

The deep jewel palette and Gothic architecture suit the current Indo-Colonial and Bombay Deco revival in interiors. The work sits well with teak, rattan, and brass, without leaning into pastiche.

— if this one stayed with you

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