William Emerson designed the memorial. His assistant Vincent Jerome Esch designed the north bridge, the gates and the Angel of Victory, 16 feet (4.9 m) tall. Lord Curzon proposed it, and the cost of about one crore and five lakh rupees came from subscriptions. The foundation stone was laid on January 4, 1906, the superstructure began in 1910, and it opened in December 1921.
It is built of white Makrana marble in the Indo-Saracenic style, with Venetian, Egyptian and Deccani influences. The central chamber is 64 feet (20 m) across. The building measures 338 by 228 feet (103 by 69 m) and rises to 184 feet (56 m).
The gardens cover 64 acres (26 hectares). The museum has 25 galleries and about 50,000 items and draws about five million visitors. An entry fee for the gardens followed a 2004 court order.
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