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SUDDER AREA HERITAGE
Preedy Street Heritage
Preedy street was an important commercial thoroughfare in the Saddar Bazaar quarter starting from Empress Market in the East and continuing to merge with Burnes Road in the West. The St. Anthony's Church is also located on this street near its intersections with Garden Road.
A view of Preedy Street from the early 1900's
EDULJEE DINSHAW DISPENSARY (1882)
The main benefactor of this dispensary was a Parsi gentleman and philanthropist, Mr. Eduljee Dinshaw. Rising from poverty, Mr. Dinshaw became the largest land owner in Karachi who reportedly owned half of Karachi by 1893, having made millions as a military contractor during the second Anglo-Afghan War. He was also a generous philanthropist, and is also known for donating busts of King Edward VII and Queen Alexandra for the Frere Hall, a statue of Queen Victoria for the Lady Dufferin Hospital, and also generous monetary donations for the construction of the Lady Dufferin Hospital and another hospital at Keamari.
The Edulji Dinshaw Dispensary was constructed in 1882 at a cost of Rs. 5000. It was one of the first buildings in Karachi that was designed in the Italianate style. It was a charitable facility located on Preedy Street in the Saddar Bazaar Quarter, at the axis of Somerset Street. The building was constructed out of Gizri sandstone, and its design drew liberally on the Italian Renaissance: having an arcade of Roman arches and pilasters on the ground and first floors, verandahs bounded by elegantly carved stone balustrades on the first floor, and elegant detailing of the openings and cornices. Each floor is separated from the other by projecting courses of dentils. The central portion of the building projected towards the front, and was topped by a centrally positioned clock tower that was itself capped by a sloping metallic roof. The clock tower prominently displays 1882 as its date of construction. The architect of the building is not known, however it could possibly have been another work of James Strachan although it follows a different pattern than most of his other designs.
PREEDY STREET ARCADING
Opposite side
As can be seen in an image from the early 1900's at the top of the page, Preedy Street used to be lined with buildings that all had Italianate-styled arcading along the street. This arcading consisted of roman arches separated by pilasters in a manner similar to the architecture of the Eduljee Dinshaw dispensary. This arcading used to give Preedy Street a very elegant and harmonious feel to it. Currently, most of the buildings lining Preedy Street are occupied by unmindful shop-owners who have defaced the facades of the old buildings they occupy with unsightly additions, signboards, and plastering up of the original architecture. Only bits and pieces of the original arcading are now visible as can be seen in the pictures above. There is an urgent need to regularize the shops along this area, and make them follow the old architectural theme by renovating and restoring the buildings lining it to their old elegance.
Bohree Bazaar Heritage
Old Pictures
Present
