Dhobitalao

Dhobitalao (धोबीतलाव, "Washerman's Lake") is a neighborhood in the city of Mumbai (formerly Bombay) in India. Located in the South Mumbai area at an elevation of 11 m (31 ft), it used to be a location where linen was washed. In British times, dhobis used to wash the British soldiers clothes' here. It was filled up in the mid-17th century as the city began to expand. The lake used to be fed by a number of underground freshwater springs, which were recently uncovered while constructing the subway in the locality.

Dhobitalao
neighbourhood
Parsi Hospital at Dhobitalao
Dhobitalao
Coordinates: 18.9433°N 72.8286°E / 18.9433; 72.8286
Country	India
State	Maharashtra
District	Mumbai City
Metro	Mumbai
Zone	1
Ward	A and C
Government
• Body	MCGM
Elevation	11 m (36 ft)
Languages
• Official	Marathi
Time zone	UTC+5:30 (IST)
PIN	400 002
Lok Sabha constituency	Mumbai South
Vidhan Sabha constituency	Mumbadevi
Civic agency	MCGM

A public library stands over the land that was the lake. Just off the current site, is the famous Metro Adlabs (formerly Metro Cinema).

The Framjee Cowasjee hall is built over the Framjee Cowasjee tank

The north-eastern part of Dhobitalao is called Cavel, from the Koli name Kolwar. The Kolis of this village were converted to Christianity by the Portuguese in the 16th century. Cavel became a Christian enclave, and later immigrants of this religion, from Goa, Daman, Bassein and Salsette settled here.