Constructed in the memory of Mathura Gopala Ramachandran, popularly known as MGR was India`s first actor cum Chief Minister of Tamil Nadu; the MGR Memorial spreads for over 8.25 acres and is located adjacent to the Anna Memorial. It is known to have the highest number of visitors along the seafront.

History of MGR Memorial
The memorial was built in 1988 and was inaugurated by Janaki Ramachandran, wife of M. G. Ramachandran, in May 1990. The memorial was remodelled and the whole complex was laid with marbles and opened in 1992 by J. Jayalalitha when she became the chief minister of the state of Tamil Nadu. MGR Memorial is an architectural excellence in modern India. This modern marvellous structure was designed by the architect Mr. K. Ramachandran, retired Chief Architect of PWD in Tamil Nadu. In between the years 1996 and 1998, the mausoleum in MGR memorial was again renovated at a cost of about 27.5 million rupees. After the Indian Ocean tsunami struck the seafront of Marina Beach in December 2004, the memorial was affected.

Structure of MGR Memorial
In the year 2012, MGR memorial was again renovated at a cost of 43 million rupees, including 34 million rupees for remodelling the concealment and the wall around the memorial. The renovation of MGR Memorial includes a new entrance sporting All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (AIADMK) party`s two-leaf symbol and a bronze Pegasus, the horse from Greek mythology, landscaping the open area around the memorial using Korean grass, and planting exotic decorative plants such as doub palm, date palm, spider lily and actinium.

There is also a granite pathway, which is shaped like a massive guitar in the middle of the memorial. There are also the stainless steel handles around the memorial, a fountain in the middle, waterfall at the rear, decorative lamps, and an overhead tower with lights both at the entrance and on the arch. There are two pergolas which are of 18m in width in addition to ramps for the physically challenged. MGR Memorial has a two 16m high columns serving as the entrance of the memorial and was built with reinforced cement concrete. The elevated two-leaf structure is supported by a 6m high beam serving as the stem. The leaf structure, with a span of 10m for each leaf, is a metre higher than the nearby towering columns. The leaves have a slight resemblance of a honey comb and these are visible from both the front and the rear side of the beach.

Visiting Information on MGR Memorial
The Chennai Central Railway Station is the closest at a mere distance of 3.5 km from the MGR Memorial and the Chennai International Airport is at a distance of 22 km from the memorial.