Denso Hall (), officially The Max Denso Hall and Library, is a library located in

Karachi Karachi (; ur, ; ; ) is the most populous city in Pakistan and 12th most populous city in the world, with a population of over 20 million. It is situated at the southern tip of the country along the Arabian Sea coast. It is the former c ...

Pakistan Pakistan ( ur, ), officially the Islamic Republic of Pakistan ( ur, , label=none), is a country in South Asia. It is the world's fifth-most populous country, with a population of almost 243 million people, and has the world's second-lar ...

. It was built in 1886 as the first library in Karachi to serve the native population.

Location

Denso Hall and Library is located at a triangular corner formed by

Mohammad Ali Jinnah Road Muhammad Ali Jinnah Road (), frequently abbreviated as MA Jinnah Road, is a major thoroughfare in central Karachi, Pakistan. The road was originally named Bandar Road ( ;''"Port Road"''), owing to the fact that it linked the city to the Port of ...

, Murad Khan Road, and Marriott Road in the borough of

Saddar Town Saddar Town ( sd, صدر ٽائون; ur, ), lies in the central part of the city that formed much of the historic colonial core of Karachi. Saddar Town was formed in 2001 as part of The Local Government Ordinance 2001, and was subdivided into ...

, in central Karachi.

History

The

British British may refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * British people, nationals or natives of the United Kingdom, British Overseas Territories, and Crown Dependencies. ** Britishness, the British identity and common culture * British English, ...

colonial government built libraries in

, such as at

Frere Hall Frere Hall ( ur, ) is a building in Karachi, Pakistan that dates from the early British colonial era in Sindh. Completed in 1865, Frere Hall was originally intended to serve as Karachi's town hall, and now serves as an exhibition space and li ...

, but they were restricted to

colonial officers and their families. Denso Hall was constructed in 1886 as the first library for the natives of Karachi. It was named for Max Denso, who chaired the Karachi Chamber of Commerce in the 1870s.

Architecture

James Strachan was the architect of the project and the building was completed in 1886. The architectural design is

Venetian gothic Venetian Gothic is the particular form of Italian Gothic architecture typical of Venice, originating in local building requirements, with some influence from Byzantine architecture, and some from Islamic architecture, reflecting Venice's trading ...

, with Tudor elements on the top floor. Local Gizri

sandstone Sandstone is a clastic sedimentary rock composed mainly of sand-sized (0.0625 to 2 mm) silicate grains. Sandstones comprise about 20–25% of all sedimentary rocks. Most sandstone is composed of quartz or feldspar (both silicates ...

was used in the construction. When the building was completed it had one library and one reading-room on the ground floor, and the main hall on the first floor. The main road facing side has balconies with sculpted balusters. The clock on the top was a gift from Rao Sahib Ramdas Morarji, a local

Parsi Parsis () or Parsees are an ethnoreligious group of the Indian subcontinent adhering to Zoroastrianism. They are descended from Persians who migrated to Medieval India during and after the Arab conquest of Iran (part of the early Muslim conq ...

philanthropist who also donated 1,800 books to the library. The local

Khoja The Khojas ( sd}; gu, ખોજા, hi, ख़ोजा) are a mainly Nizari Isma'ili Shia community of people originating in Gujarat, India. Derived from the Persian Khwaja, a term of honor, the word Khoja is used to refer to Lohana Rajp ...

community donated another 1,200.

Conservation

In 2010, it was announced that the

Heritage Foundation Pakistan Heritage Foundation of Pakistan is a Pakistani heritage and humanitarian aid organization founded by Yasmeen Lari and Suhail Zaheer Lari in 1980. The organization's mission is "to document and conserve the traditional and historic built environ ...

, with financial support from

Karachi Electric Supply Corporation Electric (KE) ( ur, ) (formerly known as Karachi Electric Supply Company / Karachi Electric Supply Corporation Limited) is a Pakistani investor-owned utility company based in Karachi. K-Electric is a privately owned and vertically-integrated e ...

, would restore Denso Hall as a

Heritage site A historic site or heritage site is an official location where pieces of political, military, cultural, or social history have been preserved due to their cultural heritage value. Historic sites are usually protected by law, and many have been rec ...

. In 2019, the hall's facade, along with other heritage structures on Marriott Road, were cleaned.

References

External links