Madras Day: Heritage police stations that are more than a frontispiece

A visit to the E2 Royapettah police station and E6 Thiruporur Police Station

Imagine a whole building serving as a frontispiece of another building.

And the frontispiece matches the building it “decorates” — or, at least, seeks to match it. And this humungous “frontispiece” is a piece of the past. This is not a hypothetical situation. The E2 Royapettah police station has the older station, a heritage structure well over hundred years old, standing right in front of it. It adds a touch of other-wordliness to the new building,

The old struture is now empty, as the all-women’s police station that functioned there has been shifted to another part of the city, another station.

And this heritage structure is going to undergo spring-cleaning. That piece of information comes from T. Vinoth Kumar, inspector, Royapettah police station. According to him, the work would be completed before August 15 and the heritage structure showcased on that momentous day.

And the old police station is expected to start functioning again, becoming more than just a frontispiece dripping heritage.

There are two ways to preserve heritage. Treat it with kid gloves. Throw it into the rough and tumble of everyday existence. With a roof that is clearly a blood relative to the Jerkinhead gable roof, the structure has witnessed many police personnel’s retirement party but would not have its own. On the same premises, right behind this structure stands a police station built with current construction technologies. The new “colleague” takes much of the workload. But the old one has retained a plum role: the inspector’s office is still located at the old building. All the rooms at this 1907-born building are at work, including the two cells with redefined roles.

The two cells have been converted into regular offices, Inspector of the E6 Thiruporur Police Station, M. Saravanan points out. The bars have been retained but as window grilles.