Visakhapatnam :

It is without doubt one of the largest and most imposing colonial buildings not just in the Port City but also Andhra Pradesh and was built in 1910-13 when the British Raj was at its height and Vizag was the headquarters of the largest district in British India. Obviously, the imposing collectorate structure was built to reflect this power and glory of the Raj.

The E-shaped, five-winged castle like stone structure bears a strong Gothic influence and consists of large halls in each wing, with verandas on either side on both the ground floor as well as the first floor. The structure has an impressive porch with an internal spiral staircase leading to a watch tower and base pavilions on either side of the front facade.

Built by the district engineering board, the rubble structure has a tiled roof on the first floor, while the ground floor is Madras terraced, with long steel beams imported from England supporting the roof. Built to inspire awe and yet strictly functional, the stone castle spread over roughly 33,000 sq ft, which till date houses the collectorate of Visakhapatnam district, is by far one of the most beautiful colonial structures built in Andhra Pradesh.

While nobody knows who the actual architect of the impressive building is, Prof VK Giduthuri, associate professor, department of architecture, Andhra University, said the structure combines a blend of the Indian and European styles of architecture. “The arches and the high vaulted ceilings are typically European features. However, the Madras terrace and the open courtyards are clearly indicative of the Indian style of design.”

“It is unique in the sense that the proportions are no doubt grand, but the material used, with the exception of the steel beams, were all locally available. The interiors, though large and airy, are stark and functional,” he added.

Edward Paul, an expert on colonial structures in Visakhapatnam, said the scale and size of the district collectorate of Visakhapatnam was in direct proportion to the size of the then Vizagapatam district. “The old Vizag district was the largest in colonial India and comprised of the modern day districts of Visakhapatnam, Vizianagaram, Srikakulam, Koraput (including Damanjodi), Nowrangpur as well as Rayagada.”

Regarding the misconception that the building took a long time in the making and was constructed between 1865 and 1914, Paul said, “It is clearly mentioned in the Presidency archives records that this was not the case.”

Elaborating on the location of the district collectorate and the layout of the town, Giduthuri said that Sir Patrick Geddes, a noted botanist and amateur town planner and architect, had pointed out that Vizag was quite similar to New Amsterdam in terms of layout. “The administrative centre was located just outside the town overlooking the surf-ridden sea to ensure that things could be conducted away from the madding crowds.”

Fondly recollecting his young days when they would run down the dunes from the collectorate all the way to Beach Road, DN Sinha, an old timer, said: “The entire area between the collectorate and RK Beach in the early 1930s barely had a dozen garden bungalows and we used to run down the dunes all the way to the beach.”

For some not so old timers, the spacious collectorate courtyard was a great place to play cricket. P Krishna, a software engineer based in Bangalore, said, “We used to play cricket inside the courtyard during the summer holidays. It’s a pity that some of the collectors, who came in post 1997, did not take to us too kindly.”

source: http://www.timesofindia.indiatimes.com / The Times of India / Home> City> Visakhapatnam / TNN / June 18th, 2015