Rice Memorial Church, Bengaluru

The Rice Memorial Church is located in the busy Avenue Road, Bangalore Pete. It is named after Rev. Benjamin Holt Rice, a missionary of the London Missionary Society (LMS), a Canarese scholar and a pioneer of education in the Bangalore Pete region. The Rice Memorial Church stands on a busy street in the midst of temple, dargahs, book shops and heavy traffic, with its colonial British structure appearing to be out of place in the traditional Bangalore market district. The church stands on the site of the London Mission Canarese Chapel built by Rev. Rice, which itself was built on the site of the first Canarese chapel built by William Campbell in 1834. The church is a stone building in the European Classical style, with Tuscan columns, pediments and keystone arch windows. The church building has been demolished and raised at least 3 times, with the current structure consecrated in 1917.

Heritage conservationists have been increasingly urging authorities to include the church, along with other important landmarks on the heritage list, as these monuments are being increasingly threatened by the development of Bangalore City. There has been proposals for widening of Avenue Road, which would result in damage or loss of the Rice Memorial Church and other monuments. The Rice Memorial is part of the proposed 'Palace-to-Palace' Heritage Corridor (or Golden Corridor), linking Tipu Sultan's Summer Palace (on Albert Victoria Road) to the Bangalore Palace, passing through KR Road, Avenue Road and Palace Road. The corridor proposed by Bangalore's well known architect Naresh Narasimhan, with consultations from Indian National Trust for Art and Cultural Heritage (INTACH) has however has not been accepted by the Government of Karnataka.