148 years after it was built, James Street PS gets a new lease of life

The restored James Street Police Station.
| Photo Credit: Serish Nanisetti

148 years after it was built, the iconic James Street Police Station with its soaring belfry, clock and louver windows that came to be known as Ramgopalpet Police Station, has got a fresh lease of life. Lit up with an off white light, the street offers a glimpse of life in Secunderabad as it was in the colonial era.

“We researched using archival material and photographs to ensure that the geometrical similarity, form, colour, original features, and built components, including the Palladian pediment and semi-circular arches of the building are restored to the original form,” said conservation architect Surya Narayan Murthy when asked about the restoration.

“It took us 14 months to execute the project as the building had suffered extensive damage with deterioration of lime plaster, which in turn harmed the wooden rafters due to water seepage and moisture,” says Mir Khan of Deccan Terrain who carried out the restoration work.

“The wooden rafters had to be replaced, the 20^th century cement plastering intervention had to be undone. The seepage affected the madras terrace (built using terracotta tiles and lime mortar) as well as the jack arch roofing,” informs Mr. Khan.

Prior to the restoration, the Greater Hyderabad Municipal Corporation had asked the Hyderabad Police to vacate the building in 2016 citing its dilapidated condition. The building was designated a heritage building in 1998 and the police department had a plan to turn into a museum. Now that goal appears closer as the 400-kg brass bell in the belfry has been taken down and kept on the ground floor as an attraction. “The police department has a plan to use it as an outpost or turn it into a museum,” informed Mr. Khan.

The James Street Police Station named after the Resident James Kirkpatrick was financed by the businessman Seth Ramgopal who had his home in the same street. While the home is built with influence from Rajasthani architecture, the police station had an air of a colonial building.