Introduction
 The Firangi Rahguzar
has been devised to
present the best of
British-Indic
architecture
consisting of the most
impressive imperial
buildings that
Lahore has to offer.
In the early days of
occupation there was
no hesitation on the
part of the rulers
to commandeer the
finest of the
existing Mughal
edifices for their
own use—greatly
damaging them in the
process. In time,
new structures were
constructed to
accommodate a
burgeoning
administrative and
military force.
As neo-Mughals, in
Lahore the British
aspired to replicate
the legacy of
architectural
splendor left by the
Great Mughals, and
as elsewhere in the
subcontinent,
successfully
employed
architecture as a
tool for governing
the province. You
will find impressive
neo- classical
architectural
expression
reflecting the might
of the empire and
picturesque
neo-Gothic
expressing the
Christian missionary
spirit. However, it
is the Anglo-Mughal
style, devised by
the rulers in
response to the
rising tide of
nationalism, that
shaped the
architectural
environment of the
19th and early 20th
century Lahore. This
style is beholden to
those
'intermediaries' who
were committed to
the promotion of
indigenous crafts of
the province, the
most outstanding of
whom was John
Lockwood Kipling,
Principal of Mayo
School of Art (now
National College of
Arts), whose son
Rudyard earned
everlasting fame as
a poet and writer,
having worked in
Lahore in the office
of Civil and
Military Gazette.
Because of
non-availability of
stone in the region,
the mellow pink
brick, earlier
employed by the
Mughals, has given
Lahore's Raj
buildings a special
character. But
where, for the
Mughals it formed a
background and a
base for more
elaborate decorative
treatments such as
tile mosaic or
fresco, the
 British
usage of exposed
cut- and carved
brick endowed the
city with a special
architectural
flavor, and formed
the basis of many
contemporary
buildings as well.
The Firangi Rahguzar
buildings tell the
story of the
establishment of
various institutions
in the Punjab, as
also of the
importance of Lahore
as a strategic
outpost supporting
the campaigns for
the preservation or
expansion of the
empire, such as the
First War of
Independence (1857)
or the First and
Second Anglo-Afghan
Wars (1839 and
1878). When railways
were laid to
facilitate the
critical and speedy
movement of troops,
provisions and
military hardware,
Lahore was
designated the hub
from where a vast
network of railways
was controlled.
The Firangi Rahguzar
will familiarize you
with the most
significant of
Lahore roads—The
Upper Mall or simply
The Mall,
rechristened
Shahrah-e-Quaid-e-Azam.
Built initially as
the main road which
linked the civil
station of Anarkali
and the new
cantonment, known as
Mian Mir Cantonment,
the Mall was often
called Thandi Sarak
(the cool street) by
the locals. It lent
itself to being
developed as the
most important
thoroughfare, lined
with the most
prestigious
structures. Thus a
drive or stroll down
the road not only
resurrects the
British past, but is
also a reminder of
the intellectuals,
writers, poets,
artists, the
 firebrand
revolutionaries and
the elite of the
city who frequented
the coffee shops,
bars, nightclubs and
restaurants well
into the 1960s.
Considered one of
the finest public
roads, it Vi as laid
out in 1851 by Lt.
Col. Napier, who
described it as 'the
direct road between
Anarkali and Mian
Mir', also providing
linkage with the
Walled City. But
before Napier's
straight road (the
Upper Mall) was laid
out—marked Lawrence
Road in pre 1876
maps—the only Mall
was the stretch of
road connecting the
DC's office (court
or kachahri) to
Multan Road
junction, later
named the Lower
Mall.
During the early
days of British
occupation, it was
the Lower Mall that
was the centre of
activity. The Police
band played twice a
week in the Gol Bagh
(now Nasir
Bagh)—then known as
Bandstand
Gardens—when the
beauty and fashion
of the British civil
and military
stations gathered to
enjoy the music and
exchange gossip.
However, once the
cantonment was
shifted to Mian Mir,
the Upper Mall was
the road that was
embellished with
impressive
structures.
Little seems to have
been done to
organize the Upper
Mall until the late
nineteenth century,
when the whole
length of the road
was remodeled and
realigned under the
supervision of a
great philanthropist
son of Lahore,
Executive Engineer
Sir Ganga Ram, and
later widened
opposite the
National College of
Arts, due to the
personal interest of
Lt. Governor Charles
Rivaz. Beginning
with the first
British Residency,
now the Punjab
Secretariat, in the
Lower Mall, by the
time you reach the
extended Upper Mall,
you will have
visited a host of
remarkable and
impressive
Indo-British
buildings.Old Anarkali Buildings
The Upper Mall Heritage
Charing Cross Group
Miscellaneous
Imperial Edifices
G.O.R. & Cantonment Buildings
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