Light House - Esplanade Road - Parry's Corner - Madras

The first conventional lighthouse started functioning in 1796 when the terrace of the officer's mess-cum-exchange building (the present day's Fort Museum at Fort St. George) was chosen as the site for the first warning beacon which used a large lantern to aid vessels approaching the port in preventing the risk of shoals of Covelong in the south and the hidden sand banks in the north. This lighthouse with the oil wick lamp functioned till 1841.

The second light house was erected during 1838-1844 on the north side of Fort St George. The construction of this regular lighthouse tower in the compound of the present High Court was taken up in 1838 and completed in 1840 on which the wick lamp was shifted as the supply of the new equipment by Stone Chance, Birmingham was delayed. The new flashing light consisting of Argand lamps and reflectors started functioning from 1 January 1844. It was functioning for the next 50 years until 1894, when in 1886, during the reconstruction of the Madras Port after a cyclone, the port officer wrote to the Madras government alerting them of a possible threat to vessel traffic in the region from a Tripasore reef spotted around 40 miles south of Madras near Seven Pagodas (now known as Mamallapuram).

The port officer then recommended that a lighthouse be installed to alert ships about the impending danger. Responding to this, the government shifted this lighthouse equipment with lantern onto the dome of the new High Court building. This became the third lighthouse of Chennai and was functioning from the tallest dome of the Madras High Court. It started functioning on 1 June 1894, with argand lamps and reflectors manufactured by Chance Bros, Birmingham which had originally been installed in the 160-ft-tall lighthouse tower. This lighthouse later became crucial for the development of the Madras port.