Peshwa Baji Rao I laid the foundation of his residence, Shaniwar Wada, on January 10, 1730, a Saturday. The name combines Shaniwar, meaning Saturday, with Wada, a residence complex. The article credits several craftsmen rather than one architect, including an inlay expert from Jaipur. It was completed in 1732 and opened on January 22.
The seven-story complex had a perimeter wall with five gateways and nine bastion towers. The main gate, the Delhi Darwaza, has steel spikes in a nine-by-eight grid, each twelve inches long. The Hazari Karanje fountain was lotus-shaped, with sixteen petals reaching an arch eighty feet high.
A fire started inside the palace on February 27, 1828, and burned for seven days. Most buildings were destroyed, but the granite ramparts, teak gateways and foundations survived. They are maintained as a tourist site.
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