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HOMES ON THURSTAN ROAD/ CAMBRIDGE PLACE 75 YEARS AGO-by Hugh Karunanayake Regina Walawwa now College House Source:Island Seventy five years ago, the Thurstan Road/ Cambridge Place thoroughfare was one of the most picturesque in Colombo. It was lined on either side by gigantic specimens of flamboyant, or flame of the forest tree (poinciana regia), the saman tree (samanea saman) and the kaha mal or cassia fistula. The tree lined avenues provided a restful and shady canopy over the road. During the months of April and May when the avenues were in full bloom this stretch of road was most colourful and attractive, and indeed a magnificent spectacle – a remarkable living legacy from the spacious days of the city in the past. Those were the days when Colombo was renowned the world over as the “garden city of the East.” The trees were planted around 1920, following a report by Professor Patrick Geddes, ...