Administration
Throughout the 1800s, Sri Mariamman Temple was managed by trustees who oversaw its daily affairs. Priests from the Coromandel Coast (south-eastern coast of India) assisted with religious rituals. The trustees, involved in serving the temple, periodically sponsored its expansion. By 1887, a Supreme Court order directed the appointment of a manager who helped with the appointment of Brahmin priests here. In 1907, the temple came under the colonial administration of the Mohammedan and Hindu Endowments Board (MHEB). A panchayat or committee of native Hindu managers were appointed by the MHEB from 1914 to oversee and assist with temple operations. The temple became an integral part of the lives of Hindus especially those who were arriving from India to work and live here. Since 1969, the temple has been under the administration of the Hindu Endowments Board (HEB), a statutory body. A 12-member management committee appointed by the HEB for three-year terms oversees the temple’s daily operations.

National Recognition
The Preservation of Monuments Board (now Preservation of Sites and Monuments) declared Sri Mariamman Temple a National Monument in 1973. It is the first Hindu religious site to gain this recognition.

Architecture
Sri Mariamman Temple has the basic elements of any traditional Hindu temple – shrines for the gods and goddesses, a central hall for worshippers and a tower entrance. Parts of the temple, including its peripheral wall, domes and sanctums, date back from the 1840s. The portico connecting the main entrance to the sanctums where the deities are housed was added in 1916.

Rajagopuram (Tower Entrance)
The rajagopuram or tower entrance seen today was remodelled in 1936. It has five-tiers, each with a niche in the centre and replete with brightly painted stucco figures. The lowest tier has figures depicting scenes from Hindu epics Ramayana and Mahabharata. In the higher tiers, are images of gods and goddesses from the Hindu pantheon, as well as those of saints, poets, and bearers of the tower. The rajagopuram culminates in a barrel-vaulted roof with a row of gold-plated brass vessels. A pair of timber doors ornamented with brass bells at the base of the rajagopuram opens into the temple proper.

Vimanams (Domes) and Shrines
An ornate dome known as a vimanam signifies the presence of a shrine or altar beneath it. There are four such vimanams, and these are all located in the west elevation of the temple. Each onion-shaped vimanam is decorated with colourful sculptures and capped with golden pinnacles. The main vimanam is above the shrine of Sri Mariamman, the principal deity of the temple. The other three vimanams are located above the shrines for Sri Gothandaramar, Sri Subramaniyar and Sri Drowpathi Amman.

Boundary Wall
It is unique that nandis or sacred bulls line the temple’s boundary wall instead of lions. A lion is the mount of the principal deity here, Goddess Sri Mariamman. Nandi, which represents strength and justice and is the vehicle of Lord Shiva, occupies a prime position here.

Mandapam (Pillared Hall)
The mandapam or pillared hall leading to the main sanctums feature colourful ceiling frescos of Hindu gods and goddesses. It is flanked by a series of square ornamented columns, some of which feature brightly painted tiles. The space has trefoil arched openings along the north and south elevations. A closer look at the arches will show that there are two variations in design. The parapets in the hall are adorned with heavy mouldings supporting sacred bulls. An interesting feature here is the presence of two circular windows on both sides of the temple entrance, which are reminiscent of oriental architecture and the temple’s Chinatown location.

Open Courtyard
Within the open courtyard on the left is an elevated viewing gallery below which are the temple office and a meeting room. It is from this gallery that devotees view the temple’s main festival, Theemithi (Fire Walking) which falls between October and November annually.

Ancillary Buildings
At the back of the temple grounds is a three-storey annex building which houses the temple kitchen, stores, and staff quarters. In 1996, the addition of a wedding hall cum auditorium with a separate entrance on Pagoda Street completed the collection of buildings on the property.