Frere Hall 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 library.
Frere Hall is located
in central Karachi's colonial-era Saddar
Town, in the Civil Lines neighborhood that is home
to several consulates. The Hall is located between
Abdullah Haroon Road and Fatima Jinnah Road. It lies adjacent to the
colonial-era Sind Club.
Frere Hall
houses a number of stone busts, including that of King Edward VII, which
was a gift from local Parsi philanthropist Seth Edulji Dinshaw. Frere
Hall also houses oil paintings by Sir Charles Pritchard, who was a former
Commissioner of Sindh.
Frere Hall
was built in the Venetian Gothic style that also blends elements
of British architecture with local architectural elements. The
building features multiple pointed arches, ribbed vaults, quatrefoils, and
flying buttresses. Carving on the walls and beautifully articulated mosaic
designs are visible on multiple walls and pillars.
The building is built primarily
out of local yellow-toned limestone, with stone details formed from white oolite stone
quarried from the nearby town of Bholari. Red and grey sandstone is also
used in the building, which was quarried from the Sindhi town of Jungshahi.
A tall octagonal tower is
located in one of the building's corner that is crowned by an iron cage. The roof of the
hall is coated with Muntz metal.
