The Mall, in 1869, was but an ordinary hill road, used by pedestrians, horses and mules, wide enough for two horses to go abreast. It was in the year 1878, during the viceroyalty of Lord Lytton that the Simla roads were widened and expanded and made into a carriage-drive; and with the improved condition of the Mall a long line of English type of shops came into existence, thanks to the untiring efforts of the British architect Mr. Arthur James Craddock.

Willow Banks was established in the year 1871, a landmark estate which spells history and exemplifies an era of gracious living, originally owned by Arthur James Craddock, "Architect and Builder of Simla". In a fitting tribute to his memory the building has been redesigned into a Hotel, endowed with all modern amenities and comforts effortlessly blending into the surrounding landscape and enhancing its beauty.

The Mall is now Simla's main artery which extends the whole length of the town east to west; a typical English kind of a shopping lane with purely colonial type of architecture, consisting of small blocks with sloping roofs, having a shop on the roadside, a living upper storey and a little go-down in the basement; it continues to be the shopping centre for the elite.