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When you get closer to the entrance to the KMC Building, the first thing that strikes you is the sheer size of the stone edifice. Surely, if the hands on the tower clock move, they will give the impression as if they are circumambulating ‘H. M. King George V, Silver Jubilee Clock 1935' written around it. The facade is gorgeous. You climb a few steps to arrive at the place of work and see that to your right there is the Archives and Research Wing, and on the other side you will discover the City Institute of Image Management (CIIM).

Leaving aside a few broken windowpanes on the second floor, the KMC Building is fairly well maintained. Though the floors are clean, the walls indicate that repair work is going on. But the grand dimensions of (and interesting patterns on) the structure make you acknowledge its architectural grace.

The architect of this Anglo Mughal style work of stonemasonry was James S.C. Wynnes, as mentioned on one of the plaques inside the building. To impart a touch of Muslim architecture to the design, he came up with cupolas and arched shapes, which is why the corners of the building are topped by big domes. There is eye-catching detailing in different sections of the stonework as well.

It was in 1895 that the foundation stone for a Karachi Municipality Office on Bunder Road was laid by His Excellency the Right Honourable Lord Sandhurst, Governor of Bombay. For unknown (or known) reasons construction work did not take off at the time. The location where the present office exists was subsequently chosen and the groundwork was completed in 1915. After a delay of another decade, construction restarted on Nov 5, 1927. On Dec 31, 1931 the plan was finally materialised.

[Source: Karachi Legacies of Empires by Peerzada Salman]

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